Deadline
by Arikae
Summary: Team One has been given a deadline. One member dies if the deadline is not met.
1. Prologue

**Author's note: This story has been sitting on my computer for over a year now without an ending. I just wanted to get it out. It will most probably be my last Flashpoint story. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.**

**Warnings: Un-betaed. Apologies in the advance for all the errors.**

Henry Thompson stood at his son's grave site. James Thompson was only 24 when he died. He was caught in the crossfire of two rival gangs within the prison; stabbed to death during the brawl. There was nothing the doctors could do. By the time the prison guards got the situation under control, James had already bled to death. That was a year ago, today.

Three years ago, James was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Jessica Welsh. There were three witnesses placing him at the scene and all three confirm that James Thompson stabbed Jessica to death for her purse. According to the prosecutor, it was an open and shut case, James approached Jessica and when she refused to give him her purse, James stabbed her three times. There was a photo of James with the knife, a witness saying he heard James threaten Jessica and another witness confirming their struggle. James was found guilty of murder, but Henry knew it was not the truth. He knew his son and he would never hurt a fly let alone a young woman. The evidence and witnesses did not tell the truth and Henry aimed to prove it.

Henry knelt down in front of his son's grave stone. "Today's the day, James. I'm going to clear your name so that you can truly rest in peace. Wish me luck." Henry got up and headed to his car.


	2. Chapter 1

It was past mid-day when Team One received the hot call. A man was threatening to jump off a building in the middle of the city. Greg Parker and his team arrived on scene where a crowd on the street had already formed. Ed looked up, not liking the scene from a tactical point of view. The building was ten stories high. "What's the plan, Boss?"

"I'll head up and see if I can talk him down." Greg looked at Sam, "You up to being my second?" Sam looked at Greg, a little taken back, usually Jules would be second in a situation like this to help with the profiling. Sam nodded, he knew he needed the field practice when it came to negotiations. "Good. Ed, find a tactical approach in case I can't talk this guy down. Spike, we need intel. Any reason why he wants to take his own life. Jules, Wordy, talk to the colleagues. Unis say he works in the building. Sam, let's go!" Greg and Sam entered the building and was met with the building security.

"Lou, you're with me." Ed ordered. It was Ed's job to find a tactical approach but this building made it hard. "Let's see if we can find any angles where we can approach him without him seeing us."

"Lifts are this way, Sir, we've held this lift for you. It'll take you straight to the top floor." Greg thanked the security guards and entered the lift with Sam, when Spike's voice came over the comm..

"Boss, subject's name is Jake Summers, he works on the 9th floor of this building, no family, no debts and no mortgage." Spike reported, "That's all I got. Maybe Jules and Wordy will have something."

Sam looked at Greg, shaking his head, confused, "No reason so far why this man would want to take his own life."

Greg nodded, "Let's see if we can find out something." The floor reached the tenth floor and Sam and Greg took the stairs up to the rooftop. Sam opened the door and let Greg through first before following.

The man was sitting there with his back to them. Greg frowned as he studied the subject. The man was relaxed, not showing any signs of stress; that either meant that he was ready to do this and had already made his peace with what he was about to do or he wasn't preparing to jump at all. Greg looked over at Sam who shook his head, just as confused. _This better not be a hoax._ "Sir," Greg called out, "My name is Greg Parker with the Strategic Response Unit. You're Jake, right?"

The man didn't turn around, "That's right, Greg." Again, the voice was too relaxed.

_"__Boss, Wordy and I just finished talking with a couple of Jake's colleagues and so far, none of them are saying that he's acted in anyway that would make them think he would commit suicide. In fact, by the sound of things, he's a cocky bastard. Apparently, he just got a promotion last week and has been rubbing it in their faces." _Greg could tell by Jules's tone that she was thinking the same thing he was. This may be a hoax.

"Jake, can you tell me if you're planning to jump off this building today?" Greg asked. He didn't like this situation at all. He gestured for Sam to move up quietly, seeing as this man wasn't even looking at them. Sam nodded and slowly made his way up to the man.

Ed opened the window on the eighth floor of the building. He stuck his head out and looked up. Jake Summers was right above them with his legs swinging. Ed wasn't happy. "Boss, this guy is swinging his legs, not what someone who's planning to jump would be doing."

Greg let out a breath in frustration, "Yeah, Ed, I'm getting that impression too." Sam looked at his boss, wondering if he should just walk right up and grab the guy, to hell with stealth. Greg shook his head, they still had to treat this as a suicide until it could be proven otherwise.

On the 11th floor of the apartment building across the road was Henry Thompson with a rifle. He looked in the scope and pointed between the two SRU officers standing on the rooftop. Judging by the way the two were interacting, he guessed that the older one was the boss, so he turned his target onto the one approaching the man on the ledge. Slowly, he put pressure on the trigger.

Sam approached Jake. He was almost there when he felt something sharp hit his neck. Sam reached up and pulled out the object in his neck, "What the hell?" He was holding a dart in his fingers. Sam turned to his boss, confused and a little dizzy.

"Sam?" Greg asked, worried. He was only a few feet from Sam but to Sam he sounded like he was a mile away. Greg watched as Sam started swaying on his feet.

Sam shook his head, to try and clear his vision. "Boss?" He called before stumbling and dropping to his knees.


	3. Chapter 2

Greg looked around and immediately took cover near the door, even though his first reaction was to run to Sam. He looked over at Jake who had turned around and was shocked when he saw Sam on his knees. "Woah, this wasn't a part of the plan!" He got off the ledge and started moving around Sam and looking around nervously at the same time. "Damn it!" Greg yelled in anger, "Ed, we're being played. Sam's been hit with something. He's disoriented at best. Jake Summers, you need to come over to me and take cover!"

Jake turned to him and nodded nervously, quickly heading over to the door of the stairway. Greg dragged him in and immediately cuffed him to the stair well. He'll deal with this man later. "I swear this wasn't the plan!" Greg just glared at him, then turned his attention to Sam who looked ready collapse completely. "Ed! We need to get to Sam now!"

Ed responded to Greg's first call immediately, "Jules, Lou, Wordy, meet at the trucks. Spike, get the shields ready!"

_"__Already on it, Ed." _

Jules ran straight to the stairs, not bothering with the lifts. Wordy was right behind her. She didn't know what was happening to Sam, but it didn't sound good.

_"__Sam, can you hear me?" _Jules's voice came over Sam's head set. He looked around, trying to find her. His mind was so muddled that he didn't understand she was just the voice in the ear piece. "Jules, where are you?"

_"__Sam, hang in there, we're on our way." _Jules was relieved and scared at the same time when she heard Sam's voice.

"Sam, look at me." Greg ordered him.

Sam looked over to the door where his boss was, "Boss…I'm not feeling too good." He blinked his eyes trying to clear his vision.

"Yeah, I can see that, buddy." Greg tried to remain calm. This was the worse feeling, to have to wait while a team mate was in trouble, to see him look at you for help, but not being able to do a thing. "Ed's on his way up here, just hold on, Sam."

"Yes, Sir." Sam's voice was weak, he turned his head to look around at where the shot came from, squinting. He saw something, in a window in the building opposite him, but everything was so blurry. "Boss, someone's over there."

Greg slammed his fist against the door frame in frustration. He couldn't risk sticking his head out the door to see what Sam was talking about. "Ed!"

Ed and the rest of team one were on their way up in the lifts. "Be there in 1 minute, Boss." He watched the numbers on the display, a lift ride had never felt so long. They were all quiet, only their breathing could be heard. Finally, the door opened to the tenth floor.

Greg sighed a breath of relief when he heard his team coming up the stairs. He moved out of the way for them. Jake started shaking when the SRU officers glared at him as they passed. Jules gasped when she saw Sam on his knees, looking so pale. "Jules, Spike, Lou, Boss, take the shields and cover us. Do we know where the shot came from?"

Greg nodded, "Yeah, to our right."

"Okay," Ed handed his shield to Greg, "Wordy, you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." Wordy grounded out, his usual calm demeanour was only just there. "Let's go."

"Okay, move out!" Jules moved out first with her shield, followed by Lou and Spike and then Greg. Ed and Wordy moved out with them and stayed behind the shields. Greg took the opportunity to look through the window of the shield to see if he could spot the shooter. They stopped once they reached Sam and that was when he saw it. Sam was right, the shooter was still there.

"Ed!" Greg called. Ed looked over and straight through the window of Greg's shield, seeing the shooter, standing in the window. _Why is he still there but not shooting?_ But that had to wait for now.

Ed and Wordy knelt down and pulled Sam to his feet. "We've got you, Sam." Ed reassured him as they started making their way back to safety. Sam looked at him but he wasn't focusing. He tried to get his legs to work, but he felt so weak.

"You'll be okay, Sam." Jules called out as they reached the stairs. Ed and Wordy continued down the stairs to the tenth floor where they knew the paramedics would be waiting. They lowered Sam onto the gurney. "Spike, Lou, on me!" Ed headed back to the stairs and started down. "The shooter's still in the building across the road." Ed growled. Lou and Spike spared each other a look, one that said they were going to get this guy and make him pay for shooting their team mate and friend.

Sam lifted up his hand to Wordy as the paramedics checked his vitals. That small action seemed to have taken so much energy out of him. Wordy grabbed his hand and Sam opened it, revealing the dart. Wordy nodded at him, even in such a disorienting and confusing situation, Sam knew the importance of keeping that dart. There was obviously some type of chemical on it to cause Sam to lose his strength so quickly. Wordy handed it to the paramedics, "Get it tested."

Jules looked down at Sam on the gurney. There was so much she wanted to say to him but couldn't because the team was there. The paramedics had placed an oxygen mask over his face and were checking his blood pressure, pulse and pupil, but she didn't notice any of it, she just looked Sam straight in the eye, letting him know that she was there for him. Slowly, he closed his eyes, unable to keep the darkness at bay. "Sam?"

"He's just unconscious." The paramedic reassured her. "His pulse is actually quite strong. For now, I'll say he's not in any danger but we'll have to get some blood as well as the dart to a lab to know what we're dealing with." They wheeled him into the lift.

Jules watched them go, then turned around when she heard her boss. "Jake, you better tell me exactly what you know or I'll make sure the judge knows that you knew exactly what was going on and if anything happens to my guy, you'll be an accessory."

"I'm telling you, it wasn't a part of the plan. No one was suppose to get hurt!" Greg shoved the man against the wall.

Wordy walked up to the man, his height alone was intimidating. Everyone knew that Wordy was the calmest in the team and probably the most kind-hearted and reasonable, but Jake didn't know that and right now, Wordy looked ready to kill him. "You better tell us what the plan was or I won't wait for a judge to give you your sentence."

"Okay, okay," Jake shrunk a little. Greg gestured for Wordy to step back a little. Wordy took half a step back. "This man approached me this morning and handed me $500 in cash. He said if I sat up on the roof and pretended to jump, and stay there until SRU got here, I will get another $500."

"Did he tell you his name or why he was asking you to do that?" Jules asked him, she was ready to punch his lights out.

"No, but that was all I had to do. He never said anything about shooting a police officer."

Wordy shook his head, "You did this for money. You have a high paying job, what's $1000 to you?"

Jake shrugged, "It's money! I never turn down money."

Wordy grabbed him and shoved him into the lift that had just arrived. "You should've this time. If anything happens to our guy, you're going to wish you had jumped." Jules and Greg entered the lift with Wordy. They were silent, listening to what was happening on Ed's end.

Ed stood at the door of the apartment where the shooter should be. Lou got down on one knee and picked the lock, he heard the click, then nodded at Ed. Spike, Lou and Ed got their guns ready. Spike reached out and turned the handle, softly. Ed held up one finger, then the second one and then a third. Spike swung the door open. "Police, put your hands up. Hands up!"

"Police!" "Hands up!"

Henry put his hands behind his head and turned around. "Well, it's about time." Spike and Lou exchanged looks of caution.

Ed lowered his gun, knowing Spike and Lou had the man covered, "Turn around." He ordered. Henry did as he was told and Ed brought his hands down and cuffed them behind his back. Once the threat was contained, Spike and Lou lowered their weapon and walked over to the window.

"Tranquiliser gun." Spike said of the rifle perched on a stand.

Ed pushed the man up against the wall roughly. "Why the hell did you shoot my guy with a tranquiliser?"

Henry shook his head, "It ain't a tranquiliser, it's poison."


	4. Chapter 3

Jules spun around and looked up at the building where Ed and the team was, her hand to her headset, the fear on her face was undeniable. She turned to Greg and Wordy who had mirror images of disbelief on their face. _Poison!_

"What's the poison?" Ed demanded, still pinning the man to the wall.

The man shook his head, "Something I concocted."

Spike was looking around the room, he had looked up at the man in shock when he had told them he poisoned Sam, but he also had a job to do. This man had a reason for doing this and he had to find it. There was an expansion file on the bed and a newspaper cut-out of a case. "Life sentence for Jessica Welsh's murderer." Spike read the headline.

Lou came over and looked through the expansion file. "Ed, this is all about a case on Jessica Welsh."

Ed dragged the man over and sat him on the bed. "What's this all about and what does it have to do with my guy?"

Henry looked up at Ed, it was obvious that he was not intimidated at all. "My name is Henry Thompson…"

Spike looked up from the newspaper clipping he was reading, "Thompson? What's your relation to James Thompson?"

"He's my son."

Ed looked at Spike for an explanation. "James Thompson was convicted for the murder of Jessica Welsh and sentenced to life."

Ed looked back down at Henry, "Still doesn't explain what this has to do with Sam."

"It didn't." Henry told him, "It didn't until your team answered the call, now you're all going to prove my son's innocence before your team mate dies."

Rage suddenly filled Ed and he grabbed the man by his shirt, lifting him off the bed. "Sam dies and not even prison can protect you from me, you got that!"

_"__Ed, calm down. We need to know more about what he did to Sam." _It was Greg's calm voice.

Ed took a couple of deep breath before loosening his hold on Henry. "What did you do to Sam?" He grounded out, fisting and un-fisting his hands to keep himself from taking a swing at this guy.

"For now, he's only feeling the effects of the tranquilizer, but the poison is already running through his system. In 6 hours he'll be feeling the effects, dizziness, fever, muscle pains and then hallucinations, if he doesn't get the antidote 3 hours after the first sign of symptoms, it'll be too late. He'll be dead 12 hours from the moment the poison entered his system and it'll be a painful death."

"What the hell do you want?" Ed seethed. Lou and Spike stopped reading the information in the file and glared at Henry.

"My son's innocent, prove it within the next 9 hours and your man survives. I'm the only one with the antidote. I spent months perfecting the poison, no one can save him but me." Henry told them calmly.

"And what if we can't, what if your son is guilty?"

Henry's expression went hard and cold, "He's not and if you can't prove it, well then I guess your guy will be joining my son six feet under."

Ed closed his eyes, trying to not think about Sam dying because of this mad man. "What if we end up proving, without a doubt that your son did murder this Jessica Welsh?"

"You won't…"

"WHAT IF WE DO?" Ed bellowed, grabbing him again by the shirt.

The whole of team one was waiting for the answer to that. Greg, Wordy and Jules on the street and Spike and Lou in the apartment. Henry closed his eyes and hesitated before he answered, "_If _you can convince me that my son murdered that woman…I'll give you the antidote."

Ed nodded and let him go. He turned from the man and spoke into his mic, "Boss, we don't have a choice."

Greg sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I know. We'll hand him over to the unis and then start work at headquarters." He walked up and down the footpath, trying to work out why this was happening to them. Sam could die because of this man, but he couldn't dwell on that, he needed to focus on proving this man's case or disproving it, whichever, they had a tough job ahead of them. "Jules, I need you to go with the unis and talk to this man." Jules started shaking her head, she didn't want to talk to this man, she didn't know if she could do her job knowing this man had sentenced Sam to death. Greg stopped her protest, "I need your take on this guy. You're our profiler, I need you to do your job. Sam's not dead yet." It was that last sentence that put it all in prospective for her. The boss is right, Sam is depending on them." Jules nodded.

Spike grabbed the file while Lou packed up Henry's rifle. Ed shoved Henry ahead of him as they made their way out of the building. "Just for the record; I don't care what we find out at the end of all this. If Sam dies, I'll make sure you're haunted by this for the rest of your life and if Sam lives, I'll still make sure you're haunted by this for the rest of your life, because in the end, it doesn't matter that you're doing this for your son, your methods are wrong. Sam puts his life on the line everyday for people like you, he doesn't deserve this."

"My son didn't deserve to die in prison either, so you'll forgive me if I'm not sympathetic to your man." Henry said, coldly.

"No, jackass, we won't forgive you!" Spike spat at him.

Sam woke up at the hospital not long after he arrived. He was groggy and confused. A nurse had just finished taking blood from him while a doctor was listening to his chest. "What's going on?" Sam pushed himself up, "Where's my team?" Sam looked around and realised he was in the emergency ward.

"Sir, you were hit with a tranquiliser dart, you need stay down." The pretty doctor put a hand on his chest to push him back down, but Sam pushed her hand away and swung his leg over the side of the gurney.

"I feel fine."

"Sir, you were hit with a dart and we still need to determine the toxin in it."

"Listen, Dr…"

"Watson." The doctor provided.

"Listen, Dr Watson, my team and I were in the middle of a call, so I need to get back to headquarters to find out what's going on. You have my blood. Do whatever test you need, but I have a job to do and I need to do it." Sam got off the gurney, "Woah." Feeling a little light-head, he grabbed the side of the bed to steady himself.

"Sir…"

"I'm fine." Sam said when his head stopped spinning. "Just got up too fast." Without another word he headed out of the emergency room, not giving anyone a chance to stop him. He had a headache, but other than that, he felt fine now. He needed to get back to the barn to find out what's going on.

Dr Watson watch her patient walk out of the Emergency Ward. "Jenny," She shook her head, "Call SRU and let them know that their officer is on his way back."

Winnie got off the phone with the hospital, shaking her head. That was the problem with working in this place, you're surrounded with mucho guys who think they're invincible. However, despite thinking that, Winnie was worried. She didn't know the whole story, but she knew Sam was sent to the hospital. She was about to get on the line to team one to let them know when they walked into the office. "Sir, the hospital just called. Sam's on his way back."

"What!" That was Ed. "What the hell does he think he's doing?"

"Calm down, Ed," Greg nodded to Winnie, "Everyone, get into the conference room. Winnie, call the Toronto police and find out who was the lead detective in the Jessica Welsh case and tell them we need everything they had on it."

"Yes, Sir."

Greg led Ed away from Winnie, "Ed, you heard what Henry Thompson said. Sam won't be feeling any symptoms for another 5 hours or so, we can't keep him in the hospital if he's feeling fine." As much as Greg would rather Sam to be in the hospital in case anything happened, there was no reason why Sam should stay there other than for the peace of mind of his team mates.

The team sat down around the table minus Jules, who was questioning Henry Thompson. Greg opened the file and pulled out everything Henry had on this case. "Spike, find out what you can on this case." Spike nodded. Greg handed Lou the newspaper clipping, "Read through them and get down all the relevant information." Greg turned to Wordy and Ed, "That leaves us with Henry's notes on the court case and the information he gathered about the witnesses. We'll take a witness each." Ed and Wordy took the papers given to them and started working.

Jules was sitting opposite Henry Thompson at the Toronto Police station's interrogation room. His files says he's a man in his late 40s. His wife passed away when his son was only 7 years old. He's a scientist working for a Pfizer, hence his knowledge about toxins. Jules tried to read the man's body language and facial expressions, but all she could get was a grieving man who truly believe that he's doing the right thing. "Why are you so sure your son is innocent?"

Henry looked at her, his hands entwined together, resting on the table, "I know my son. He's not capable of robbing or murdering someone."

Jules smirked, "I'm sure every parent in this country says the same thing about their child and yet we still have murderers, rapists, thieves, drug dealers and extortionists out there. You're going to have to do better than that, Sir." Jules couldn't find herself to be sympathetic towards this man.

Henry leaned forward, angry, "Fine, how about this? I'm one of the top scientists at Pfizer. I make enough money to be able to send my son to a private school and into the top college to study Law. My son has no reason to rob anyone and he definitely has no reason to kill."

Jules nodded, "That's better, but I've also seen a lot of cases that involve wealthy families. Just because you're rich doesn't mean you're not a killer. Look at what you're doing to my friend."

Henry slammed his hands on the table and stood up, towering over Jules, "What the hell do you want me to say?"

"Sit down, Sir." Jules didn't even flinch. "You want to clear your son's name. I get it and we'll help you with that because you've forced us to, but you need to give us evidence why you think you're son's innocent."

The man sat down in defeat, tears in his eyes, "Something about each of the witnesses didn't seem right to me. When I was listening to them in court, the journalist just looked like he was putting on a show, the girl from the convenience store wouldn't look in my direction at all and the teenage boy sounded like he was re-enacting a corny movie. Nothing about them was right, but nobody else saw it, but me." Henry looked straight into Jules's eyes, "James's innocent."

Jules believed him, she could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. She felt sorry for this man, for his loss, but she couldn't get past the fact that this man had poisoned Sam, then she realised that she wasn't being objective about this. If the person poisoned was someone she didn't know, she would be dealing with this case very differently. She would be more sympathetic towards this man, but she wasn't and that made her question her ability to do this job. The Boss sent her here to profile and that's what she needed to do. Jules sat back and relaxed, "Sir, tell me about your son."


	5. Chapter 4

Sam walked into the barn, rubbing his temple. The headache was still there but it wasn't as bad as it was when he just woke. "Hey, Winnie. Is the team in the conference room?"

"Hi Sam, how are you feeling?" Winnie stood up, wincing at Sam's expression. It was as if he had a hangover.

Sam gave her a small smile, "I've felt better. Conference room?" Winnie nodded. "Thanks." He headed over to the room, frowning when he saw them all with their heads down, reading files and newspaper clippings. "Anything interesting?" Sam asked, taking his team by surprise.

Greg's head shot up, "Sam, buddy, how are you feeling?" The whole team got off their seats to greet him, which was weird in itself. "You should sit down."

Wordy pulled out the seat between his and Ed's for Sam. "Sit, you don't look too good."

"Thanks, Wordy." Sam sat down, closing his eyes, still massaging his temple, "I'm okay, just got a headache. What the hell did I get hit with?" Team One went silent making him open his eyes. They looked uncomfortable. "Guys, what's going on?" Then he sat up, looking around the room, "And where's Jules?"

"Jules is at the police station talking to Henry Thompson." Greg chose to answer the easier question first.

"Who's Henry Thompson?"

"The guy that shot you with the dart." Spike answered.

Sam's eyes widened in pleasant surprise, "That's good, you got the guy," then frowned, "Interrogating the subject after we get them isn't usually our job."

Greg sighed, "No, it's not."

Sam could see that the team was holding back on him about something, "Come on, guys, what's going on? I've got a pounding headache, I'm not up for twenty questions."

Ed smirked, Sam never really let anything phase him too much, but this was going to be quite a test for him. He looked at Greg and got his nod of approval before talking, "Henry Thompson hit you with a tranquiliser dart that had poison in it."

Sam blinked at that, "Poison? But all I've got is a headache."

"It's a slow acting poison. Basically, he's the only one with the antidote and if we don't do what he wants, you're…"

"Dead." Sam finished for him. He sat there trying to take in what was being said. He was dying. Sam didn't know how he was supposed to process that information. He always thought he would die on the job, but not like this. A bullet or a bomb was the most likely situation but poison? Sam frowned, not sure how he should be reacting.

"Sam?" Ed put a hand on Sam should to get his attention. Sam slowly turned his head to look at him but his eyes were empty, "Sam, you okay?"

Sam seemed to come out of his absent state for a little, "What?"

"Are you okay?" Ed asked again, looking at the others, concern written all over his face.

Sam swallowed, trying to process the simple question, but he was having problems getting past the part where he was dying. He didn't know how to answer the question. "Sorry." Sam got up abruptly and left the room.

The others watched Sam leave the room, not knowing what to do. "Give him a moment." Greg told them. Sam needed time to sort this out. It was a lot to take in. The team nodded and returned to their work, looking down at their files or computer but not really taking in any of the information.

Sam headed for the men's locker room and straight to the washroom. Turning on the faucet he splashed his face with cold water, again and again, then turned off the water and looked up, his reflection in the mirror looked back at him. He didn't look like he was dying, in fact, he looked almost the way he always did, albeit a little paler.

Spike clicked through the information on his computer and came to a picture. He frowned, "Hey, guys, look at this. This is the picture that helped to convict Thompson." Spike turned the computer around. It was a picture of Thompson kneeling over the body with a knife in his hand. "Pretty damning evidence."

Greg nodded, "It is, but there's a lot of reasons why he could be doing that. He may have just come across the body and pulled the knife out, trying to help. If this was the only piece of evidence, he may not have been convicted."

"We need the testimony given by journalist to figure out more." Greg pressed a button on the phone, "Winnie, how's the file on Jessica Welsh coming along?"

_"__It's on its way, should be here in about half an hour."_

"Okay, thanks, Winnie." There wasn't much they could do, and their minds were still on Sam. Greg looked over to the entrance of the room, hoping Sam would appear soon, but he didn't. "Wordy, why don't you go talk to him?"

Wordy nodded and got up. He was the one the team turned to when they needed a reasonable voice to tell them that they were doing a good job, or to get advice, and a lot of times to just talk to because they needed someone to listen and not judge. Wordy was that person for Team One.

Wordy walked into the men's locker room. He didn't see Sam, but he did hear the water in the shower running. He headed over, but he wasn't expecting what he found. Sam was sitting under the shower fully clothed with his head in his hands. "What are you doing, Sam?" Wordy said to himself as he grabbed a towel from the shelf and walked over, turning off the water and kneeling in front of his friend. He wrapped the towel around Sam's shoulder and sighed when Sam didn't even acknowledge him. "Listen, Sam, I'm not sure if there's anything I can say that would make this right. Actually, I'm pretty sure there isn't, because nothing about this situation is right. I don't know how you're feeling right now, but I do know how the team's feeling. We have about 5 hours to prove this case clearly, either way, otherwise we lose you." Wordy wiped away the tear that rolled down his cheek. "You know that we would do everything in our power to make sure we don't lose you, right?" Wordy was finding it hard to keep it together, "Tell me you know that?"

Sam finally looked up at him. He understood what Wordy was saying. His team was fighting for his life, they were doing their utmost best to make sure Sam kept living, so Sam shouldn't be doing any less. Sam needed to fight for his own life, but just as importantly, he needed to do it for his team. "Yeah, I know." Sam whispered, wiping away the water on his face with the towel, "I know." Wordy gave a tight smile and got up, holding his hand out to Sam. Sam looked it and then at Wordy. He took it and allowed Wordy to pull him up, but he wasn't expecting to be pulled into a hug. Slowly, Sam's arm came up and returned the hug. Wordy slapped his back then pulled away.

"The team's waiting for you. Jules should be back soon with more info and the police file on the case will be arriving soon. Come on, get yourself dried up and then get to work."

Sam nodded, "Thanks, Wordy."

"Any time, Sam." Wordy left the locker room, leaving Sam alone. Wordy was right and if this was going to be his last hours on this earth, then he wasn't going to spend it feeling sorry for himself. He will spend it with his team. They were the most important people in the world to him and he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Sam got out of his wet clothes and went over to his locker to get a dry set of uniform. He finished getting dress and turned around to find Jules standing at the entrance of the locker room, watching him. Sam smiled at her, "How long have you been standing there?" Jules shook her head, she wanted to answer but the words choked her, "Oh, Jules." Sam walked up to her and gather her into his arms. "I'm so sorry." She was sobbing now and as much as she was trying to keep herself together, the thought of losing Sam was just unbearable. "Sssshhh…" Sam soothed until he felt Jules calming down. He felt Jules start pulling away.

Jules wiped away her tears before looking up at him, "I'm the one who should be saying sorry. I'm the one who should be comforting you."

Sam smiled at her, she was so beautiful. She would always be beautiful to him. "Wordy beat you to it." Sam brought his hand up to her cheek and caressed it. "Listen, Jules, if this is the last day of my life, I need you to know that I'm still in love with you." Sam leaned down and kissed her on the lips, gently, then started pulling away, but Jules reached up and put her hands on his neck to hold him there. She didn't want this kiss to end. Sam missed this.

Jules finally pulled back, "I love you too." She whispered.

Sam nodded and smiled at her. "Let's go before Wordy comes in to check on me again."

Sam and Jules entered the conference room together. Jules had a notebook in her hand with everything she and Henry had spoken about in it. She took a seat next to Lou while Sam stayed standing. He had something to say to his team before he buried himself in the case. "I'm sorry." He put his hand up to stop the guys from interrupting, knowing what they were going to say, "I know this is just as hard on you as it is on me, maybe even harder," His voice cracked a little, but he swallowed at continued, "Henry Thompson got lucky that Team One answer that hot call, because he got the best men and woman on the job, but you're all human and we don't always get to win, so I need you all to promise me something." Sam wiped at his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat, "If this doesn't go our way, you're all going to let this go. No one's going to revisit the case and no one's going to blame themselves. If I die, this case dies with me. I don't want anyone beating themselves up over this because I know we're going to do our best and that's all we can do." Sam looked at each of them, "Do we have a deal?"

Greg nodded, proud of the man standing in front of him, "Yeah, Sam, you have a deal."

Ed gave him a lopsided smile, "As long as I get to cuss at your grave, let me have that and you have a deal." Sam laughed and nodded, "Then you have a deal."

"You have my word." Wordy said from his seat.

Lou nodded, "It's a deal."

"Yeah, buddy, you have a deal."

Jules smiled through her tears, "You know you have my word."

Sam nodded, "yeah, I do." He looked around the room, "I guess we should get to work then."

Sam back down in his seat between Ed and Wordy. "Okay, Jules," Greg started, "Why don't you give us a run down on this guy?"

Jules nodded and flipped open her notebook. "His wife died when his son was only seven. He's a scientist at Pfizer, but quit his job last year. That was when he started working on the poison." Jules looked up at Sam, who just nodded for her to continue, "James Thompson was studying law up until he was incarcerated. Judging by what Henry's said, he's a kid that always had a plan. He was looking at joining the best law firms in the country. His eyes were set on Boder Martin James, McCarthy Pearson, Henderson Law, if they weren't big, they weren't for him. James was aiming to be one of the top lawyers in the country. The day Welsh died, he had just finish talking to a lawyer at Boder Martin James, about an internship. He had already shown promise and this firm wanted the best. According to Henry, his son's life was working out the way he planned, he wouldn't throw it away like that by robbing a woman and killing her."

"What's your take on it, Jules?" Ed asked.

Jules grimaced at that question, "I agree with Henry Thompson. There is no motive for James to rob and kill. A kid with an ambition this size is usually very careful with what he does. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardise his future."

"Okay, if that's the case, let's find any evidence that may prove that." Greg looked up when Winnie came into the room with a box. "Is that the police file?"

Winnie placed it on the table, "Yep, this is everything."

"Thanks, Winnie." Winnie looked over at Sam, she couldn't help it. She knew what was going on now and she couldn't bare the thought of losing someone, even though that was the risk of her job. Sam smiled at her. Winnie smiled back as she left the room.

Greg opened the box and took out the one file on the case. It wasn't very thick. "Looks like it really was an open and shut case. They don't have that much on it."

"We should look at the witness statements. Henry really believes that the three witnesses lied."

"Three witnesses, who don't know each other. Why would they lie?" Sam questioned, it was quite a coincidence for three witness with no connections to all lie.

Greg pulled out each of the witnesses statement and handed one to Ed, one to Jules and another to Wordy. "See what you can find?" Greg looked at his watch, two hours had passed. He looked up at Sam. "Make sure you tell us when you start feeling symptoms. We're on a clock." Sam nodded.


	6. Chapter 5

One hour later, the conference room table was filled with paperwork and they were each conferring with each other to get fresh eyes on what they were reading. Greg had pulled in a whiteboard and drew up three columns, one for each witness; Leonard Worth, Vinu Prasad and Vincent Cho, and whenever a team member had an interesting point they wrote it down in the respective column. Above the columns were points about the case; date, time, street, names, etc. Spike had printed out the picture Leonard Worth had taken and pinned it under his name. Jules had written down what Henry had told him about each of the witnesses. Sam flicked through the court transcripts. There wasn't much there. He did however, focus on Vincent Cho's testimony. Cho remembered what time it was because he had been watching an old movie called Justice, it was a movie made in the 1950s. Vincent said that he heard an argument outside his window, but couldn't really see what was going on. He did, however, hear the man a say, "You give me your purse, little lady or else you'll be bleeding in the gutter." Sam frowned at that. Somehow, that doesn't sound like a phrase that would come out of a young man's mouth. He got up and walked over to Spike, "Spike, can you look up a movie in the 1950s called Justice. See if you can download it."

Spike looked at him curiously, "Didn't peg you for the old crime movies. Should I get you some popcorn as well." Sam laughed and swiped him over the head.

"I have a hunch." Sam told him simply, "Something about Cho's statement seems off."

Jules nodded, "That's what Henry said. She flicked through her notebook. "Something about him sounding like he was re-enacting a corny movie."

Sam nodded, "That's the feeling I get."

"Movie is downloading now." Spike announced.

Wordy was reading Vinu Prasad's statement. She had heard a scream and went outside the store to see what it was. James Thompson was stabbing a woman and then running away. She had picked him out of a line up. Nothing suspicious about her statement yet, but Jules had written up on the board that she refused to give the father any eye contact which meant she was acting guilty or she was just scared. They're going to have to talk to her face to face to really know what happened. "Boss, Jules and I should go to the girls' place and talk to her. I'm not finding any thing suspicious yet, but talking to her might help."

Greg nodded, "Okay, you two go ahead."

Jules got up but hesitated, looking over at Sam who was reading the transcript. He looked up when he felt someone's eyes on him. Sam smiled at her, he knew she didn't want to leave him, wanting to spend more time with him while she can. "I can go by myself." Wordy could see the exchange between Sam and Jules.

Sam turned to him, "You need Jules. She'll be able to get the girl to talk if she's hiding something." He turned back to Jules. "You can do it. She doesn't live too far from here, you'll be back soon and I'll be here." Sam promised her. Jules smiled at that and nodded, not trusting herself to talk. Jules left the room Wordy.

Ed looked at the picture on the board. After reading Leonard Worth's witness statement, the picture looked less and less damning. "Leonard Worth's lying." Ed determined. They all looked up at him. Ed got up and pointed at the picture. "This is the only picture he took. He claimed that he saw Thompson push the woman to the ground and then stab her but he couldn't tell how many times. According to him this picture was taken when he brought the knife up to make his first stab." The others weren't sure where Ed was going with this, but they could tell by his face that he was on to something. "Now, if I was a photographer, taking pictures of a murder and I wasn't making a 911 call, because he said he didn't make the call until after the man ran away. I would be taking more than one picture." Ed pointed at the picture, specifically at the man's arm, "And if you look at the blur of the arm, Thompson's arm was moving up, not down."

"But there's already blood on the knife," Sam sat up, understanding what Ed was getting at, "If Leonard was right and this was his first stab, then there shouldn't be blood and the arm would be moving down."

Ed nodded, "That's right, Sam and why didn't he keep taking pictures if he was there the whole time, until Thompson ran away? Every one knows the money shot is the one where the knife comes down into the victim." Ed mimed the action of bringing a knife down.

Greg was nodding, it looked more and more like Henry was right, his son was innocent. He was feeling hopeful as he looked at his watch, another hour had passed and in another hour, Sam would be feeling the symptoms and then they only had three more hours to prove their case. "The movie's downloaded, Sam." Sam got up and stood behind Spike.

"Fast forward to any scene where a robbery is taking place. One with a woman in it." Spike moved the bar along until they got to a shot that resembled what Sam was describing. "That's good, play it."

The lady in the scene screamed a man with a gun approached her, "This is so badly made, who would watch this?" Spike complained about the small budget movie.

"Vincent Cho." Sam laughed, then froze when he heard the next words spoken by the thief.

_"__You give me your purse, little lady or else you'll be bleeding in the gutter."_

"Son of a bitch." Sam shook his head in disbelief, then picked up Vincent Cho's witness statement. "I heard a noise outside my apartment and went to look out the window. I couldn't see anything but heard a man say, 'You give me your purse, little lady or else you'll be bleeding in the gutter.' " Sam slammed the statement on the table. He couldn't believe there were such idiots in this country. "He didn't hear a thing! He was watching this movie that night and used that line as evidence against Thompson!"

Lou shook his head, "This case is seriously messed up. Who the hell was the lead detective on this case anyway?"

Greg looked at the name on the box the file came in, "Detective Kenneth Torres. Winnie said he's on leave for the next two weeks so he won't be any help to us."

Sam rubbed his temple again, unconsciously, making the team tense a little. He looked at them before realising what he was doing. "Sorry, I'm fine. The headache from the tranq is still there."

"Okay," Ed accepted that answer, "We're going to need to get moving if we're to get this evidence to a judge for it to be overturned. We need to get two witnesses to recant their statements and hopefully Wordy and Jules are having some luck with the girl."

Greg nodded, he got up, "Spike, Lou, you go to Vincent Cho's work, Ed, you and I will go find Leonard Worth, Sam, you should…"

"I'll go with Spike and Lou." Sam told him in a tone that meant he wasn't going to back down. Greg and Ed looked at him, wanting to order him to stay but knowing it wasn't going to happen. "I'm not sitting this out. I've still got…" he looked at his watch, "about 4 hours, I'm not wasting it by sitting here waiting for you guys to come back."

"Fine, go." Greg shook his head at the stubborn young man. "But you will let us know when you start feeling symptoms, I don't care if it's just sand in your eye. You feel anything wrong, you let the guys know."

"Yeah, yeah…" Sam groaned, as he walked out of the room. Spike and Lou came up on either side of him and swung their arm over Sam's shoulder. Sam squirmed a little, not liking how close the boys were.

"Don't worry, Boss, we'll take good care of Samtastic." Spike crowed as he ruffled Sam's hair.

"Hey!" Sam wriggled out from under Spike and Lou's arms, "Quit it you two!" He sounded annoyed, though he had a smile on his face. The three of them laughed as they left the barn, joking and poking each other as if it was another day on the job.


	7. Chapter 6

Wordy and Jules were in the living room of Vinu Prasad's house. It seems like a lot had happened since James's conviction. Vinu got married and had a little boy. Her house was filled with Hindu gods and goddesses, and alters for praying. Her husband is western, which seemed quite surprising to Jules because everything about this house tells her that this woman is a strict Hindu. Vinu came out of the bedroom and apologised, "I'm sorry, it was time for Ashwin's afternoon nap and he is trouble if he doesn't get it."

Wordy smiled at her, "I understand, I have three girls and they were all terrors at Ashwin's age."

"Can I get you some tea?" Vinu's upbringing taught her manners when it came to house guests.

"It's fine, we're in a bit of a rush. We wanted to ask you about the night of Jessica Welsh's murder." Jules and Wordy both caught the fear in Vinu's eyes before she covered it up.

"What about it? That was a few years ago."

"Yes, but we really want to hear what you saw again."

Vinu sat down, she was acting calm but Wordy could see her hand shaking. "Well, it was about 11pm and my father asked me to watch the store that night. I was at the cashier, when I heard a scream. My father's always taught me that I should always help people in need." Vinu shrugged, "So I ran outside to see. That's when I saw that man holding a knife and stabbing someone on the ground."

Jules nodded and then smiled, trying to get Vinu to relax, "So how long have you and your husband been together."

Vinu smiled at that, "We met in high school. We've been together for nine years now, married for two of those years."

"Young love. You know not many guys dared to date me when I was in high school. My brothers and my father scared them all off." Wordy frowned, not sure where Jules was going with this.

Vinu laughed, "It was the same with me. Michael and I didn't dare to tell my father until I was out of college, then once we did we got married straight away."

Jules raised an eyebrow at that, "How did you keep your relationship from your father for so long?"

Vinu giggled, "We'd meet up whenever I worked at the store alone. Any chance we got, we took it." She sighed, "We spent so much time in that storeroom."

Jules nodded, no longer interested in Vinu's love life, "So the night you saw the murder, your husband was with you?"

"What?" Vinu looked up shocked at the sudden turn of the conversation.

"You said that you were in the store alone that night, that meant you and Michael had a chance to meet up. Are you telling me that was the one night you never met up?" Jules asked. Wordy was impressed, this is the reason why Jules usually got sent out to question family members. She could put together a picture in a way none of the others could, save the Boss.

"No…that's not…"

"So he was there?"

"Yes, but…"

"You both heard a scream and he let you go out there alone."

"No! We didn't…" Vinu stopped herself before she accidentally blurted out the truth, but it was too late.

"You didn't hear a scream, did you? You and Michael were in the storeroom. You didn't know what was happening until you saw all the commotion outside the store. Stop me any time I'm wrong, ma'am." Jules was getting angry now. "A man went to jail because of your testimony. You have a chance to make it right, right now. Tell us what really happened."

Vinu was crying now and Jules and Wordy knew that Henry was right, she did lie in court. "I didn't think there was any harm. That man did kill someone, right? I was just helping to put him away."

"Is that what you've been telling yourself?" Wordy asked, disappointed.

"I didn't see what happened. I walked outside the store when I saw the lights from the police cars. There were a couple of people standing outside my store talking. They said a lady was stabbed to death. It happened just a little way down the road from the store. I was worried that if I said I didn't see anything, my father would start getting suspicious, because I should've seen something if I was at the counter, so I lied."

Jules shook her head, "You lied because you were worried about your father finding out about you and Michael. Vinu, you helped put an innocent man in jail. James Thompson didn't do it." Vinu put a hand to her mouth, she was sobbing uncontrollably, "Now, his father has put my team mate's life on the line because of what you said that day in court. I'm going to give you a chance to save a life to compensate for the one you've taken. Uniformed police will be coming over here to take your statement, tell them the truth. _Please._" Wordy and Jules stood up to leave.

"What will happen to me?" Vinu asked softly.

Wordy turned to her, "I don't know. Perjury is a crime but we could put in a good word for you if you tell the whole truth when the police officer comes." They left the lady to think about what she did.

Jules got outside and turned on her comm. "Boss, we got a confession from Vinu Prasad, she didn't see a thing that day. She lied. We're heading back to the barn now."

"Good job, Jules. Wordy, why don't you drop Jules off at the garage where Vincent Cho works, Sam's there to speak to Cho, then head over to us. We're at the National Post to talk to Leonard Worth.

"Roger that, Boss." Wordy looked over at Jules. He could see that she was worried. "You know he'll be okay."

Jules looked at her watch, "Sam's fine at the moment but I'm not sure I can keep it together when he starts feeling the effects."

"Sam won't be feeling too good, so he's going to need you." Wordy smiled, "Come on, Jules. You're one of the strongest women I know. You're an SRU officer and you're on Team One. He needs you to stay strong."

Jules nodded, but remained silent.

Sam stayed in the truck while Spike and Lou went in the question Cho. He wasn't happy but Spike was right, there was no point in all three of them questioning the guy and he could hear the conversation from the truck while reviewing some on the information they got on the case. There was something they were missing, how is it possible that they've found all these holes in the prosecutor's case but the defence lawyer didn't. Sam took out his tablet and typed in the name of the defence lawyer, "Raymond Henderson." The page had just come up when he heard Spike yell over the comm., _"Hey! Get back here!"_ Sam frowned, putting a hand to his ear, "Spike, report."

_"__The little rat ran out the back door when he saw us!"_

Sam looked up in time to see Vincent Cho come out of the side alley. "I see him!" Sam jumped out of the truck and gave chase. "He's heading down Lexington." It didn't take much for Sam to gain ground on the guy, once Sam was close enough, he jumped and tackled the man to the ground. Sam got up, puffing, looking up when Lou and Spike appear from around the corner of the cross road. Sam grinned at them, "What took you so long?" He cuffed Cho and pulled him to his feet. "Why the hell did you run?" Sam asked as he pushed the guy back toward the truck.

Spike came up to him, "You know we let you get the guy, because we knew you were bored in the truck."

Sam laughed, "Yeah, sure, Spike." They were almost at the truck when Sam's vision moved out of focus. "Oh crap." Sam stopped, closing his eyes.

"Sam?" Lou put a hand on Sam's arm to steady him when he started swaying on his feet. "Sam."

Spike took hold of Cho while Sam got his bearings again. He looked down at his watch and started a timer for 3 hours. That was how much time Sam had before the poison became irreversible. Sam finally opened his eyes when the dizziness passed. "You okay, buddy?"

Sam swallowed back the nausea and nodded, "Yeah, Spike, I'm good for now." They all looked up when an identical truck to their pulled up behind it and Wordy and Jules jumped out.

"Perfect timing." Lou said, relieved.

Jules ran up to them, the concern was undeniable. She could see by the expressions on Spike and Lou's expression that something was wrong. "Sam, are you okay?" She asked as she came up to him, taking him by the arms. Lou let him go when he saw the Jules had him.

"I'm fine, Jules, just got a little dizzy."

"Henry said dizziness is the first sign." Jules said unnecessarily, "I'm getting you back to the hospital."

Sam shook his head, "Jules, there's nothing they can do. They're doing the test, if they find anything that'll help, they'll call, right now, I'm better use here with you guys than in a hospital bed."

"Sam's right, Jules." Wordy said, then spoke into his mike, "Boss, Sam's showing symptoms, I'm going to take him and Jules back to headquarters while Spike and Lou finish off with Cho."

"I've started a timer, so we know how much time we've got." Spike added, not happy about saying it, but knowing they needed the countdown.

_"__That's good, Spike. We'll head back once we've finished with Worth."_ Greg told them.

"Come on, Sam." Wordy took him by the arm and led him over to his truck.

"Wordy, I'm fine."

"Just a precaution. Don't want you falling on your face." Sam rolled his eyes, but let his friend lead him, knowing it was just something he needed to do. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. It was just a short spell." Sam explained as he got into the back of the truck. "You'll know when I start feeling bad. I promise I'll complain the way Spike does." That got a laugh from the other two.

"Hey, I heard that!" Sam looked out the window at Spike's annoyed expression.

"I'm sorry, dude, did I forget to turn off my mike?" Sam grinned as they passed their team mates.

_"__You're lucky you're sick, buddy, otherwise I'll kick your butt."_

Sam laughed, "Rain check?"

_"__You got it, buddy." _Sam smiled sadly at Spike's tone. It was soft and reflective.

Ed and Greg looked at each other, they knew what the other was thinking. There wasn't much time left. They were waiting for Worth to come back from a meeting. Apparently, he'll be back any minute now.

"Once we're done here, you go to Henry Thompson and tell him what we know, hopefully he'll tell you where the antidote is."

"Why not you? I can't guarantee I won't kill the guy." Ed warned.

"You won't." Greg said confidently, "And I have to head over to the Ministry of Attorney-General. I think we're gonna have enough to overturn this conviction."

_"__Boss?" _Sam's voice came over the headset.

"Sam, buddy, how are you feeling?" Greg asked, a little too cheery.

_"__Like I'm going to strangle the next person who asks me that." _Sam warned, annoyed and a little tired.

Ed smirked at Greg, who shook his head, "Okay, Sam, what's up?"

_"__I think we need to look into the defence lawyer. There are too many holes in this case, but he missed them all, so either James got the most useless lawyer in the city or…"_

"Or someone paid him to do a bodge job." Greg finished, "That alone is enough for a mistrial. There's more to this case than we can see."

"What are you thinking?" Ed asked, he knew that look on Greg's face.

"I'm thinking the real killer paid the lawyer to turn a blind eye to all the holes in the case, which means there's someone out there who got away with murder and an innocent man dead. That's two lives this person has taken." Greg was calm but Ed could tell that he was boiling beneath the surface.

_"__Sir, we're no longer doing this for just me. We're police officers. Our job is to take killers off the streets."_

"I hear you, Sam, but our first priority is your life and then we can make sure the real killer is behind bars."

"The Boss is right, Sam, getting this guy can wait another day or so, but you can't." Ed agreed.

Wordy looked in the rear view mirror while Jules turned around in her seat, "You know the boss is right. You're our priority."

Sam gave a lopsided smile, he was touched that his team cared so much about him and he feels the same about each and every one of them. "I know, I just don't like the fact that I'm being used to blackmail you guys."

_"__Hey, we're still doing a good thing here, he's not asking us to rob a bank, blackmail or not, we're doing good."_

Sam nodded, Ed was right. _"Okay, guys, Worth just walked, we'll meet you back at the barn."_

"Yeah, see you soon, Boss, Ed."

Greg and Ed got up, "Mr Worth, Sergeant Greg Parker and this is Ed Lane of the Strategic Response Unit. We have questions to ask you."

Worth shook their hands, "What's SRU want with me?"

"Is there somewhere we could talk?" Greg asked.

"Of course, my office is just down the corridor." Worth turned to the receptionist, "Daisy, hold any calls for me." Then turned back to the two officers, "This way."

Greg and Ed sat down across from Worth. "So what can I do for the SRU?"

Ed got straight to the point, slapping the picture of James Thompson with the knife on the table in front of him. Worth grinned as he picked it up, "The picture that made my career. This picture was the key evidence in convicting a murderer and this paper got the story first up."

"Yeah, so I hear." Ed growled.

"We've read your witness statement, Mr Worth. You said you took this picture just as he was making his first stab."

"That's right," Worth tapped his head with his finger, "I remember it like it was yesterday, clear as day."

"I'm glad you said that because there are a lot of problems with your statement that we need to clarify."

Worth got nervous at that, sitting up straighter and straightening his tie, "What problems?"

"You see if this is his arm coming down on the victim for the first stab, there shouldn't be any blood and the blur in this photo should be above his arm and not below it." Greg explained to him slowly, then waited for an answer.

Worth swallowed, another sign of nervousness, "I…um…must've remembered wrong, it might've been the second or third stab."

"Clear as day, huh?" Ed got up and kicked his chair away. Sam didn't have time for them to be nice. "Tell us the truth. What happened that night because we all know that this picture is of Thompson taking the knife out of Welsh? What happened after that?"

"Um…yeah…yeah…I remember now, you're right, he pulled the knife out and then stabbed her again."

"Okay," Greg tried to calm the situation down a little. "Let's say we believe you, why didn't you take more pictures? Why just this one, when you saw him make multiple stabs?"

Worth shrugged, "This one picture's enough evidence."

Greg shook his head, "No, it isn't. A picture of the knife going into the victim would be enough evidence, this…" Greg pointed at the picture, "could mean anything."

"So what happened?" Ed asked in a deadly voice.

Worth was sweating now which meant he knew he was in trouble, "I don't have to talk to you guys." Greg knew right then that this man wasn't going to say anymore and letting Ed threaten him wasn't going to make him talk.

Greg leaned over, "Fine, this is what I think happened. You didn't see Thompson stab Welsh to death, you saw him kneeling over the body and instead of calling the police, you took a picture, but I'm guessing the flash might have scared off Thompson, so he ran and that's all you saw." Worth didn't say a thing, but Greg could tell that he was right. Greg got up, "I think the police will be paying you a visit soon. Let's go, Ed."

Ed leaned over the table, "Don't leave the country." He gave a mock smile and then left with Greg.

Greg rolled his eyes at Ed, "Don't leave the country? Really?"

Ed shrugged, "I've always wanted to say that."


	8. Chapter 7

Sam sat in the conference room, helping to put a report together to give to the Attorney General. It wasn't their job, it was a lawyer's job, but Thompson's lawyer wasn't trustworthy, so for now, they were all Thompson had. Spike and Lou had arrived about twenty minutes ago confirming Sam's theory. The guy only heard a scream and that was it, but he loved crime series and movies so much that he saw his chance to be a part of a real life crime. Just like the other two 'witnesses', he thought he was just helping to put away a killer.

"Idiot." Spike shook his head as he typed away, "I mean, who in the world uses a line from a movie as evidence!"

"I'm still finding it hard to believe that three separate witnesses lied!" Lou exclaimed, sitting next to Spike, "You spelt evidentiary wrong." Lou pointed to the screen, "It's "a" not "e"."

Spike slapped his hand away, "Spell check will fix any spelling mistakes, okay?"

Lou shrugged, "Just trying to help." Then pointed at the screen again, "It's…"

"Would you quit it?" Spike complained, moving over one seat and taking the computer with him.

Sam laughed at the best friends' antics. Life was always fun with these two around. He got up, using the table as leverage, "I'm going to get some water, anybody want some?"

Wordy, who was next to him, got up, "I'll get it, Sam."

Sam sighed, "Wordy, I'm fine, I can get it my…" The room started spinning, but unlike the first dizzy spell, this one didn't go away as fast. "…self."

Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw Sam start swaying, "Sit down, Sam, before you fall down." Jules came up to him and pushed him back onto his chair. Sam frowned at her, trying to get her into focus, but it was so hard when the room wouldn't stop moving.

"Lean forward, Sam." Wordy pushed his chair in so that Sam could rest his head on the table. "Just breathe deep and it should pass."

Jules rubbed the back of Sam's neck, "You're a little warm." She looked at Wordy, worried. Wordy nodded at her and then left the room.

Sam didn't move, but he answered her, "Yeah, been feeling a little hot. That's why I was going for some water."

"I'll go get it." Lou said, glad he could do something. Spike continued typing. As much as he wanted to help Sam, there was nothing he could do and getting this report done will be helping in a more substantial way.

Wordy returned with a bowl of ice water and a towel. He soaked the towel and rung it out, folding it up he placed it on the back of Sam's neck. Wordy smiled when his friend moaned at the relief it gave him. "Bowl's right here if you need more."

Sam lifted his head up and when the room wasn't spinning anymore, he pulled off the cloth and dunked it back in the bowl, "Thanks." He groaned, ringing out the cloth and wiping his neck and face. Lou returned with a cold bottle of water that Sam took gratefully. He hung his head back in relief brought by the water and cold towel. "Thanks, guys." Sam groaned with his eyes closed. "When's the boss and Ed getting back?"

"They should be here soon."

"Yeah, and once I add their findings to this report, Ed can bring it down to Toronto Police and convince Henry Thompson to give us the antidote." Spike reported optimistically.

"Let's hope so." Sam pushed himself off the chair, "I'm gonna go get some fresh air."

"I'll come with you." Jules got up with him.

Sam smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek, "Give me a little time alone, if I'm not back in 20, you can come get me. I'll be on the roof." He moved off without waiting for an answered. He could feel his team's eyes on him as he walked away from them. Sam knew he was worrying them, but he just needed some time to himself. He hadn't even called his family yet and he didn't want to make the call in front of his friends. Sam climbed the stairs up to the roof, it was an easy climb, but Sam was still out of breath by the time he got to the top, however the cool air refreshed him. Sam pulled out his phone and dialled his parents' number. It was the General who picked up.

_"__Hello!"_

"Hello, Sir."

_"__Sam? Why are you calling at this time? Shouldn't you be working?"_

"Yes, Sir, I'm at work now, but something's happened and I needed to talk you, mum and Nat."

_"__Have you finally come to your senses and rejoin the army?"_

Sam sighed, "You know, Sir, I really wish we could just talk without you bringing up the army."

_"__What else would we talk about?"_

"Oh I don't know…I'm calling you out of the blue and you don't even ask me if I'm alright. If I told you I was dying, would you still ask me to rejoin the army?"

_"__Don't be so melodramatic, Son, why would you be dying? You sound fine to me."_

Sam shook his head, this is the reason why he didn't want his team to hear his conversation with his father. They wouldn't understand, "Is mum there?"

_"__No, she's gone out with her friends to talk about the upcoming fundraiser. She, unlike you, is actually doing her part for the country."_

"God dammit, dad, why can't I have one conversation with you without you trying to guilt me into going back? Do you have any idea what I've been through over there? Do you have any idea how many lives I've saved here at SRU? How much of a difference I've made? No, you haven't because you've never taken the time to listen to me, to see how much happier I am here." Sam took his a shaky breath, "I love you, Dad, and I know you think everything you do is for my own good, but I'm old enough to make my own choices. I love working at SRU and nothing will make me quit, not if I'm still breathing."

_"__Well then, Son. I don't think we have anything to say to each other."_

Sam laughed, it was like this man wasn't hearing a word he was saying, but then again, Sam should've been use to it by now. "Tell mum and Nat, I love them." With that Sam hung up the phone. He guessed that call turned out about the way he expected it to. Exhausted from the conversation Sam slid to the floor, his back against the boundary around the roof. Sam closed his eyes and thought about things he should be doing before he died, but he couldn't think of anything. His friends were the people at SRU, and he's glad that he'll be spending the last day of his life with them. Sam took out his phone again, and put it on voice recording, "This is for my family at SRU. Greg, Boss, you've been like a father to me. You've helped me to understand that saving people's lives doesn't have to involve the use of a gun, that word's are so much more powerful. Lou, you're always so calm in situations, you've never shown any anger or frustration, just always cool and collected, that's something I still need to learn. Spike, you're easily the smartest guy I know, what you can do with a computer," Sam laughed, "It scares me sometimes, but what I'll be missing are your jokes and exchanges with Lou. In a job like this, your ability to make people laugh is a priceless skill. Yeah, I know, I'm so corny. Wordy, you always have the best advice and you're always around to give them. You make juggling this life with a family life so easy and I wish the day will come where I'll be asking you for advice when I have a family of my own. You're a good friend, Wordy. Ed," Sam smiled, "You're not the easiest guy to work with and yeah, we got off on the wrong foot, but you're my mentor and the team leader I had hoped I could become. You've made hard shots, but every one of your fatal shots are right and I know how hard it is to make those and not be driven mad by them. Just do me a favour and the next time the Boss asks you if you're okay, after a lethal, don't tell him you're fine. Talk to him and tell him the truth, because one day, it'll be too much and SRU can't lose someone like you. Jules…wow…Jules, what can I say? Yeah, that first day I saw you I just thought, 'She's sexy,' but after getting to know…" Sam swallowed, "well, there's no words that could describe how amazing you are, inside and out. You're sensitive, you're kind, you're considerate and on top of all that, you're beautiful. I have to say, God wasn't very fair, when he was dishing out the good stuff." Sam wiped away the tears, "I love you, Jules, I've never stopped loving you and I never will." Sam paused the recording and took in a deep breath, trying to gather himself before he finished, then pressed the record button again, "Thank you guys, for everything. SRU is where I belong and there is no place I would rather be." Sam stopped the recording and put his phone back in his pocket. He may not have been able to make peace with his dad but at least he knew that his friends would know how he felt about them. There is no way he would be able to tell them that in person, it would be too embarrassing and if he did manage to get out of this, well, Spike would never let him forget it.

Sam looked at his watch and figured his should head back down before Jules started worrying. He tried to get up but his arms and legs felt like they had just run a marathon. Sam sat back down and rubbed his shoulders and legs, to see if he could loosen his muscles. "Ah man, what the hell did this guy do to me?" Sam complained as he tried again, managing to get to his knees when a dizzy spell came over him again. "Great." He sat back on his legs and waited for it pass.

"Where have you been, brother?" Sam's eyes shot open at the voice.

"Ben?" Sam asked before passing out on the rooftop.


	9. Chapter 8

Downstairs, Greg and Ed had returned from their visit with Worth. Greg handed Spike his notes. "Here." Spike took it and started adding the findings to the report, "How much time?"

Spike looked at his watch, "One hour, twenty minutes." There wasn't much time left, they couldn't wait any longer to speak with Henry.

"How long do you think you'll be with that report?"

"Another twenty minutes or so."

"We can't wait that long. Ed, you go and talk to Henry, Spike will send you the report when he's done." Greg ordered.

"Sure," Ed looked around, "Where's Sam?"

"Up on the roof, he said he needed some time alone." Jules answered him. "I'm gonna go check on him."

"I'll come with you and then I'll go see Henry." Ed said, looking at Greg for his approval. Greg nodded, he knew Ed needed to see Sam before he left. He watched as the two headed for the staircase. For some reason, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Ed and Jules got to the top of the stairs and opened the door to the roof. The blood drained from their faces when they saw Sam lying there, not moving. "Sam!" Jules ran to him and dropped down beside him, Ed was only half a second behind. "Sam, answer, come on." She put a finger to his neck, then nodded, "His pulse is still strong."

"Sam." Ed rolled Sam onto his back and gave his face a pat, "Sam? Can you hear me?" When he didn't get a response, he spoke into his headset, "Boss, we need EMS, Sam's unconscious."

The team in the conference room looked at each other, scared and shocked. "I'm calling them now. Wordy and Lou are on the way up." Lou and Wordy headed up without being told twice. Greg got on the phone and called the paramedics, but knowing there was little they could do, save making him comfortable.

"Come on, Sam." Jules had positioned herself behind Sam's head, resting his head on her lap. Finally, Sam's eyes started to flutter.

"Sam?" Ed smiled when he finally opened his eyes. "Sam, it's Ed, can you look at me?"

Sam frowned, someone was talking to him but he couldn't tell who. He turned his head in Ed's direction but he couldn't make out the face and all he remembered was hearing a voice he hadn't heard in a long time, "Ben?" Ed heard Sam whisper. Jules hadn't heard that name before, but Ed has and he wasn't happy about hearing it.

"Sam, it's Ed."

"Ed?" Sam asked confused, "Where's Ben?"

"Sam, Ben isn't here."

Sam swallowed and tried to push him self up, "He was here, I heard him."

Jules helped him the rest of the way to a sitting position, staying behind him in case he couldn't hold himself up, "Sam," Ed said again, making sure he got the sniper's attention. "Ben's not here. You know he can't be here."

"Who's Ben?" Jules couldn't help herself, why did Ed know about this Ben and she didn't.

"Not now, Jules." Ed told her and waited for Sam to reply, "Sam?"

Sam was confused but he knew Ed was right, so he nodded, "Yeah, I know, I was just hoping. I thought I heard his voice before I passed out."

"Okay, do you think you can stand?" Ed asked at the same time Wordy and Lou came through the door.

"Hey, Sam," Wordy knelt down next to Sam, "How are you feeling?"

Sam shook his head, "Not too good, Wordy." Wordy knew Sam must be feeling bad to admit it.

Wordy nodded, "Okay, buddy, let's get you downstairs, the EMS are going to come over and check you out."

"I don't want to go to the hospital." Sam complained, as Wordy and Lou helped him to his feet. "There's nothing they can do."

"Not for the poison, no, but you've got a fever and an IV can help keep you hydrated." Wordy explained to him, walking him slowly down the stairs.

"No hospital, please." Sam begged, he didn't want to spend his last hours in the hospital and he didn't want his team mates to waste their time sitting with him. "They can set up an IV here."

"We'll see, Sam." Ed told him from behind, "If the paramedics say you don't need to, then you don't have to."

Sam got his wish when the paramedics called Sam's physician and were told there was nothing the hospital could do for him aside from treating his symptoms and they were even limited in that because they couldn't guarantee that any medication wouldn't interact badly with the toxin, meaning an IV was really all the paramedics could do.

Ed had left the office after the paramedics arrived. After hearing Sam call out Ben, Ed knew the hallucinations had started and if seeing Ben was the first image then this next stage of the poison was going to be a living nightmare for Sam. Ed needed to convince Henry that Sam didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to spend his last hours on Earth in a nightmare.

The police officer opened the door to the cell Henry Thompson was kept in. Thompson was sitting on a cot, looking relaxed and non-concerned. Ed wanted to strangle him. "So, I take it you have something for me?"

Ed shook his head, leaning against the cell wall opposite Thompson. "Nothing on paper, but my teams found a lot of holes in your son's case and we've questioned each witness personally. We're putting a report together right now and we'll be sending it over to the Attorney-General once it's finished. There's enough evidence to overturn your son's conviction." Ed knew that look on the man's face; the look that held hope but then didn't want to believe it in case it was all a lie and didn't pan out. Ed squatted down to look the man in the eye. "You can trust us, we're doing everything we can to prove your son's innocence, because we believe it now, not because you forced us to. We've still got more work to do, but we can't do it in the timeframe you've given us."

"You want the antidote now before you've even shown me any evidence that you've done what you say you have?" Thompson shook his head, "No."

"No?" Ed gave a look that dared the man to say that word again, "Just like that! No!"

"That's right. You could be lying and if I give you the antidote, then I have no leverage."

Ed's jaw clenched and the vein in his head was ready to burst, "In one hour you don't have leverage anyway."

"Then we both lose."

"Yes, we both lose and you'll go to jail for the murder of Master Corporal Sam Braddock; a man who's laid down his life for this country and a man who puts his life on the line everyday for people like you and your son, for strangers, because that's the kind of man he is. That's the guilt you're going to live with for the rest of your life." Ed finished forcefully, trying to ram it home to this broken man.

"Then so be it. I've dedicated the last three years to this, I'm not going to let it all go to waste because of a pretty speech." Thompson was just as determined as Ed was.

Ed pushed himself up, "Let me tell you something about Sam. He's going to die and I really want to wash everything we've found down the drain if you don't give me the antidote within the next hour, but I know for a fact that Sam won't let me. He'll want the real killer found," Thompson's head shot up at that, but Ed just continued, "He won't let any of us give up on this case even though he knows it's killing him, because he will never let a killer go unpunished."

"You would continue this case, even if he died because of me?" Thompson asked Ed, not convinced.

"Yes, because Sam would make us promise to see this through and we would honour his wishes." Ed confirmed, "Now, you have a choice. Let Sam die and get your justice or let him live and still get your justice." Ed waited for the man's choice.

Spike hit the print key on his notebook and put his hand up in victory, "Done! Sorry, Boss, took longer than I thought."

"Did you send a copy to Ed's tablet?" Greg asked, as he arranged all the evidence into a folder.

"Yep, done, Ed should be receiving it now." Spike confirmed.

"Good job, Spike." Lou handed Greg the print out of the report, "Thanks, Lou. I'm heading over to the Attorney General's office." Greg said tucking the folder under his arm, then looked over at Sam who wasn't listening to him or looking at anyone. Greg sighed, "Keep an eye on him, he's having hallucinations." Greg didn't even want to know what could be going through Sam's head at this moment and he didn't want to leave Sam in this nightmare, but he had a job to do. "I'll try to get back as soon as I can." Greg left the room with one last glance at Sam, calling out to Winnie, "Winnie, call the Attorney General's office and tell them I'm on my way with an urgent case. Tell them what's happening." He wished he didn't have to leave Sam at this time.

Sam sat in one of the chairs in the conference room with an IV in his left wrist feeling very disoriented and confused. For the last half an hour images had been appearing around the room, all of them to do with his time in Afghanistan. He's been telling himself that it wasn't real, it wasn't insurgents standing around the room, it wasn't an IED that just took out a Humvee," Sam looked at the man in front of him; it's not Ben standing in front of him with half this face taken off from Sam's bullet. "Sam?" Sam kept staring at his friend whose blood was soaking into the conference room carpet. "Sam?" He kept staring when a finger came up and pointed at Sam, accusingly. "Sam!"

Sam jumped at the voice in his ear. He turned his head and saw Jules's concerned expression, "Sam, are you okay? You were a mile away." Sam didn't answer her, he just turned back to the man in front of him, but Ben was no longer looking at Sam, he was looking at Jules. Why was Ben interested in Jules? They've never met. Sam started getting nervous when more insurgents appeared in the room, each of them standing near a member of his team, near his friends. "Sam, what's wrong? Wordy?" Sam could hear Jules, but he couldn't take his eyes of the enemy.

Wordy walked up the Sam and nodded for Jules to move out of the way. Sam was getting nervous. His grip on the chair was so hard, his knuckles were white. He was shaking and he sat in the chair like a cornered animal. Wordy knew cornering a nervous animal was dangerous. He knelt down next to Sam and turned the chair so that Sam was in front of him and hopefully turning him away from whatever phantoms he was seeing. "Sam, you're hallucinating. Whatever you're seeing right now isn't real." Sam didn't respond, he just looked up at something behind Jules. "Sam look at me, tell me what you're seeing." Wordy turned Sam's head back to him, "What are you seeing, Sam?" He couldn't bare seeing the fear in Sam's eyes or feeling the trembling in Sam's hands. "It's okay, Sam. Talk to me."

"Insurgents everywhere." Sam's voice was barely a whisper, but everyone in the room heard it.

Spike looked at Lou, who was looking around and seeing nothing, "Sam, there's nobody here but Team One." Lou told him.

"I know, but I keep seeing them." Sam was looking at open air again, "They want something."

"Sam, they're not there." Jules said through her tears, but Sam didn't notice them or hear her because he was concentrating on another voice.

_"__They're all going to die, because of you. That's what happens to the people you care about, they die. Your sister, me, even Jules almost died because of you."_ Ben's voice was hollow, emotionless, but the comment still speared his heart. _"You should leave here before you kill them all."_ Ben turned to the insurgents in the room,_ "See, they're going to shoot your friends if you don't get out of here."_ All the insurgents cocked their guns and took aim at Team one's heads. _"Don't let anyone else die because of you."_

Sam shook his head, "No, no, please…"

Wordy got worried when Sam's emotions started to escalate and his trembling became more violent. "Sam, close you eyes, ignore what you're seeing."

"I have to go." Then without warming Sam shot up off the chair and ran out of the room, pushing Wordy to the floor in the process and pulling out his IV.

"Sam!" Jules ran after him with Spike right behind her. Lou helped Wordy up and followed.


	10. Chapter 9

Sam didn't know where he was running, but he did run into Rolly, the Sergeant from Team 3, knocking him to the floor. "What the heck?" Rolly groaned from his position on his back, "Sam?" Rolly didn't know Sam that well because he was transferred to Team 3 the day Sam arrived, but he did hear about what was happening. He was going to ask how Sam was, when Sam grabbed his side arm and pushed himself up, pointing the gun at him. Rolly raised his hands slowly, still lying on his back, "Hey, Sam. What are you doing?" Sam looked bad, he was sweating, pale and his eyes weren't focused.

Sam frowned at the man on the ground, he knew this man, but he couldn't place him. He was familiar with the uniform though and it told him that he didn't want to hurt him. "Sam!" A voice came from behind him. It was Jules and Spike. No, if they catch him the insurgents will hurt them. Sam started running again, out the back of the building. He was heading to the SRU training grounds.

Spike pulled Rolly to his feet, "Sorry, man, no time to explain." He said before chasing after his buddy again. Rolly turned to see them disappear through the back door, then turned to see Wordy and Lou running up to him. Rolly pointed to the door, "That way." Wordy nodded to him as he ran pass with Lou. "Good luck, guys." Rolly had worked with Team one for a long time, but this was a hard case. Any call involving one of their own will always be difficult, but having Sam the way he is right now, was just unfair.

Sam ran into the training building and continued until he was in the room on the far side of the building. He locked the door and started pacing the dark and empty room, gun in his trembling hand, trying to figure out how to get his friends out of this mess. He jumped when a thump came from the door. "Sam!" Jules. "Sam, open the door."

"Go away, Jules!" Sam called back, his voice hasn't been this strong in a while.

"Sam, buddy, why'd you lock yourself in there, man?" Spike.

Sam ran his hands through his hair in frustration, "Get away from me! It's not safe!"

"Sam, tell us what's going on?"

Sam didn't answer, he just kept pacing, _"Don't let them in here, or the insurgents will open fire."_ Ben warned Sam. Sam looked at the four insurgents pointing their guns at the door, ready to shoot anyone who came in.

Jules and Spike stood outside the door, not sure what to do. Wordy and Lou came up to them, puffing, "What's going on?"

Jules shook her head, "Sam locked himself inside and he doesn't want us here."

Wordy looked at her. They had to think fast. "How much time do we have left?"

Spike looked at his watch, "Half an hour." It wasn't much time at all.

"Okay, we treat this like any other hot call. We need eyes. Spike, Lou, go get our gear."

"Yes, Sir." Spike was impressed at how Wordy has taken control.

"And get onto Ed and the Boss. Tell Ed we need that antidote, now!" Wordy ordered, then turned to Jules, "Talk to him, Jules. Talk him down." Jules looked at Wordy, not sure if she could do it. "Jules, he's Sam, you know him better than any of us." Jules took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, and nodded. She could do this.

Ed was impatiently going through the evidence the team had found with Thompson when a call came on his mobile.

"Ed, we've got an emergency." Spike was running back to the training building with Lou and the gear they needed, "Sam's hallucinations are really bad…he's locked himself in a room in the training building with Rolly's sidearm…we're gonna try and talk him down, but we need that antidote!"

"Copy that, Spike. Does the Boss know?"

_"__Not yet! We can't get through to him. I'm guessing he's still talking to the Attorney General."_

"Okay, keep trying." Ed turned to the man on the cot, "The guy you shot just locked himself inside a room with a gun."

Thompson looked at him in shock, "The hallucinations weren't suppose to get so bad."

Ed pulled Thompson off the bed and spun him around, shoving him against the wall, "Maybe for a normal man, but Sam's a soldier. He's been through hell over in Afghanistan, so tell me what you think his hallucinations would be about." Ed growled at him.

Thompson shook his head, "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't know! You're a selfish son of a bitch who's doing this just to make yourself feel better and just for the heck of it, you decided to drag my friend into hell to do it!" Ed let him go, disgusted at the man and no longer feeling any sympathy. "You think you're the only one who's been through hell? You think you're the only one whose been unfairly treated? Wake up, Mister, this world is full of people who have been wronged but the difference between you and them is that they're unwilling to kill to get what they want."

"I did it for my son!"

"You're worse than a killer. You're killing Sam in the worse possible way. You're making him relive his worse nightmare. So forgive me if I don't give a damn what or who you're doing it for?" Thompson's shoulders slumped in defeat and Ed saw his opening, "It's not too late. Where's the antidote?"

Thompson looked up at him, "I lied about the timeframe. You still have a couple of hours left."

Ed sighed a breath of relief, he knew he was cutting it close even if he did manage to get the location of the antidote. There was still a good chance he wouldn't have gotten it to Sam on time. "Where is it?"

"I buried it at my son's grave at the foot of the gravestone." Thompson answered. "Just inject it into his arm. It'll take some time for it to work but there's a sedative in it that should put your man to sleep so his body has the chance to rid itself of the toxin."

"Thank you." Ed exited the cell, pausing before leaving, "We'll clear your son's name." Ed said without looking at the man. He could hear Henry sobbing as he walked down the corridor, putting his ear piece back on. "Spike, I'm on my way to get the antidote. How's Sam?"

Spike was watching Sam through the camera that Lou had just snaked through under the door. Sam was sitting with his back against the wall and a gun in his hand, facing the door. He looked like he was ready to shoot anyone who walked through that door. "Just get it over here fast."

_"__Copy that."_

"Wordy, we have eyes and it ain't looking good." Spike had set up in a room near the front of the building, not wanting Sam to over hear anything they were saying. "I'm sending the video link to your tablet." Wordy got out the tablet Lou had handed him as soon as he got back.

"Got it." Wordy showed Jules.

Jules looked at the defeated figure sitting on the floor on the other side of the door. "Sam, can you tell me who Ben is?"

Sam rubbed his face, he didn't want to tell Jules about Ben but he had never really kept it a secret. "_Go ahead, Sam, tell her who I am."_ Ben leaned in and whispered in his ear, _"Tell her what you did to me."_

Sam looked at the door, she had the right to know. "Ben's a buddy, we served two tours together. The second one wasn't just my last, it was his too."

Ben sat down next to Sam, the way he used to when they were over in Kandahar keeping watch, _"Come on, Sam, you're prettying it all up. Look at me, does this look pretty to you?" _Ben pointed to the side of his head where all the blood was.

"I was shooting from two kilometres away with a 50 calibre. I was cleared to shoot, but Ben was there. He wasn't suppose to be there." Sam turned to his friend, "You weren't suppose to be there."

_"__You're blaming me for you killing me?"_ Ben asked him in disgust.

Sam shook his head, "I've never blamed anyone but myself. I almost went crazy."

_"__But you didn't, you got over it, like you would get over a girl breaking up with you. You got on with your life and wiped me from your memories."_ Ben accused.

"How can I wipe you from my mind? It's not possible?"

Jules and Wordy watched and listened to the one sided conversation. "Jules, you need to get him to talk to you."

Jules nodded, wiping away her tears, "Sam? Can you do me a favour? I can't hear Ben. Can you tell me what he's saying?"

Wordy nodded, "That's good, Jules, let's see what's going on in his mind."

Ed knelt down in front of James Thompson's grave. He could hear everything that's being said and he knew he was running out of time. Sam's conversation with Ben was going down a bad road. Ed dug around the foot of the gravestone, sighing in relief when he felt the edge of a box. He kept digging around until he revealed the whole box. Ed pulled it out and nodded to himself when he found a vile of clear liquid. He got up, "Spike, I have it. I'm coming to you now!" Ed ran back to his truck and got out his cell phone, while starting the car. "Come on, Greg, answer your damn phone!"

_"__Ed, tell me Sam's got the antidote."_

"No, but I have and Thompson lied about the time limit. Sam still has time. Put on your headset, Sam's in some serious trouble and Jules is going to need your help."

_"__Damn it! Okay, I will." _Ed could tell that Greg was angry at himself for not keeping his phone on, but he needed to get the report to the Attorney General and convince him that overturning the conviction was the right thing to do, which would've taken time.

"Greg, just get over there. I'm on my way." Ed put on his siren and weaved through the cars, praying that he would get there in time.

"Ben thinks I've forgotten him. He thinks I wiped him from my memories." Sam shook his head, "I couldn't forget him, Jules. My father tried to make me forget, but I couldn't let him do it."

Jules looked at Wordy, confused, "How did your father try to make you forget, Sam?"

"Electric shock therapy." Sam answered as he looked at Ben, "I didn't let him."

Spike slammed his fists on the table in his room, he couldn't believe Sam's father would do that to him. Lou squeezed Spike's shoulder to calm him down even though he felt like throwing something across the room himself.

Ed drove his truck straight over to the training grounds, bypassing having to park the truck and run over to the building. This was much faster, "Son of bitch!" Ed growled as he got out of the truck with the antidote and a first aid kit.

Greg slammed his hand over the steering wheel, "Hang it there, Sam."

Jules looked at Wordy, she couldn't stand Sam's father. She has heard enough about him from Sam to know that she didn't care if she never met the man. "What do I say to that?" She whispered to Wordy.

Wordy closed his eyes, this was getting worse by the minute. "Sam," Wordy called out taking over, "That's a brave thing you did, you know that? So many people would've taken that offer, to be able to forget such a painful memory, but you didn't. Sam," Wordy slammed a fist on the door, "you chose to keep remembering, to keep Ben alive. You chose to live and continue to make a difference. Sam, you're a better man than me."

Sam turned from looking at Ben, who seemed to have quieted, to the door between him and Team One. Wordy was the most level-headed person he knew, he's forgiving and always seeing the best in others. He's the world's best father and loving husband Sam wished that he could be half the man Wordy is. "That's not true." Sam shook his head, "I'm not a good guy."

_"__No, you're not, Sam. You're a killer and sooner or later you're going to get your team killed." _Ben's voice came into his head again, "_The only way they will be safe from you is if you're dead."_

Sam's head spun in shock, looking at his dead friend, stunned, "You think I should kill myself."


	11. Chapter 10

Ed ran into the building and straight to Wordy and Jules, "YOU DARE KILL YOURSELF, BRADDOCK AND I'LL PERSONALLY GO TO HELL TO DRAG YOUR SORRY ASS BACK HERE!" Ed handed Wordy the vile and first aid kit, "Get it ready." Wordy nodded and quickly prepared the needle. "DO YOU HEAR ME, BRADDOCK?" Ed slammed the door with his fist.

"Ed, be careful." Greg huffed as he ran down across the field to the building, "He's extremely volatile right now."

"Greg, Jules and Wordy's approach isn't working and if he's contemplating killing himself then I need to get in there now." Ed grounded out, then turned when Greg came up to him, "If you have a better plan, I'm open to suggestions."

Greg looked at Ed's determined expression, then nodded, "Okay, do what you have to?"

Sam jumped at the booming voice from behind the door. It was Ed and he sounded really angry. "_Don't listen to him, you should just get this over with, then they'll live."_ Ben pushed again.

"Sam! I'm going to open this door soon and you better not have a gun to your head when I do, because I'll make sure you scrub every inch of every floor in our building for a year if I see a gun to your head, got it?" Ed called out.

Sam looked at the gun in his shaking hands, then looked up at the door and saw the insurgents with their guns ready, "NO!" Sam called in a panic, "You can't…you can't… they'll kill you!"

_"__That's right, Sam."_ Ben encouraged, _"You can't let them in. They'll kill them all."_

"Don't come in!"

Ed punched the door again, "Damn it, Sam. Who are you talking about? You? Are you going to shoot me?"

Sam shook his head, "No! But the insurgents are going to shoot anyone who walks through that door."

"Jules, pick the lock." Ed ordered, "Sam, there are no insurgents in Canada." He turned to Jules who hadn't moved. "What are you waiting for?"

Jules shook her head, "I don't think breaking in is a good idea."

"And letting him stay in there by himself with a gun, threatening to kill himself, is?" Ed asked her, "Pick the lock." Jules turned to Greg who nodded, so she got down on her knees, expertly picking the lock on the door.

"You better know what you're doing?" Greg warned Ed.

Ed looked at him, thinking the same thing but instead said, "Sam's a soldier, he doesn't respond to our typical negotiation styles. He responds to tough assed army sergeants and colonels." Greg nodded for Ed to continue. Ed had a point, Sam responds to orders, like a good soldier.

"Sam, I'm going to open this door now and I hope that you trust me enough, as your team leader, to not shoot me." Ed turned the door knob.

Sam got up off the ground, looking at the door knob turning as he rose to his feet, shakily. "NO!" Sam screamed as the insurgents took aim, "No, please, don't come in, they'll kill you." Sam begged his team leader to listen.

Ed sighed, he couldn't stand the fear he could hear in Sam's voice, "Sam, they're not going to shoot. If they do, it's because you want them to."

Sam frowned, not understanding what Ed was telling him, "What?"

"Sam, they're all in your head. There are no insurgents and Ben's not alive." Ed closed his eyes, this was going to be a risk, but he had to take it to save Sam, "Sam, am I still your team leader?"

Sam had his gun raised at the insurgents, in case they did try to kill his team, "Yes, Sir." Sam answered.

"Okay, then I'm ordering you to close your eyes."

"Sir?" Sam didn't want to do it, he couldn't, if he did, then he wouldn't be able to see what the insurgents were doing.

"Do it now, Corporal!" Ed barked. Sam's eyes immediately shut tight. It was a reflex to follow an order when his rank was used, but he didn't lower his gun. "Okay, Sam, keep them closed." Ed turned to Wordy, who held the needle loaded with the liquid in the vile, "Get ready to give it to him in the arm." Wordy nodded his confirmation. Ed opened the door slowly so that he wouldn't make a sound. He was shocked at seeing a gun pointed his way, but he knew that Sam wasn't pointing it at him, but at the men in his nightmare. As much as the gun worried him, Sam's condition worried him more. The boy was cover in sweat, he looked pale and clammy, as well as trembling all over. Ed didn't need a thermometer to know that Sam was burning up, he may be pale but his cheeks were flushed and Ed could almost feel the heat from where he was standing. "That's good, Sam. Are you going to shoot me?" Sam frowned, about to open his eyes, but Ed stopped him, "Don't open your eyes. Just answer the question." Ed took a step forward when Sam shook his head in answer, "That's good to know, Sam. Is Ben still talking to you?" Another step. Sam nodded, "What's he saying?" Another step.

"He says you're all going to die…because of me." Sam answered, his voice trembling.

Ed took another step, he was so close now, "Well, he's wrong, because you've saved my life once already and you were there for Jules when she was recovering. You've saved so many lives since you joined SRU, no one's going to die because of you." Ed was right in front of Sam now. He gently put a hand over Sam's. Sam flinched at the touch, but something about the hold told him that he didn't need to feel threatened. Ed slowly, but surely, took the gun and lowered Sam's hand, then pulled the trembling man into his arms, finally allowing all the emotions of the day flood through him; the fear of losing Sam, the anger at Thompson, the frustration of not being able to do a thing about the situation, and now the relief of getting Sam back. Ed didn't even care that tears were running down his face.

Sam kept his eyes closed as the gun was taken from his hand. He should've felt threatened but he didn't, he knew this person wouldn't hurt him, he trusted him. Sam was a little shocked when he was pulled into the person's arms and hugged so tight that he could barely breathe. He wanted to open his eyes, but he was ordered to keep them closed. Sam frowned when he realised everything was silent, he couldn't hear Ben anymore. Where did he go? Then the voice returned, _"You know this isn't going to last. They tell you they care about you now, that they will never turn their back on you and then…bam!..." _Sam jumped at Ben's loud animated voice, but the person holding him just hugged him tighter, if that was even possible, _"…you make a mistake and this little family you have is going to turn their back on you.."_ Sam's heart started beating faster. SRU is his family, he didn't want to lose them, _"Or worse, you get them killed!"_

"No!" Ed reinforced his hold on Sam upon hearing his friend call out in fear.

"Sam," Ed grunted as he used all his strength to keep Sam restrained, "Sam! Listen to me, just me!"

_"__Ed, Sam's eyes are still closed, you're right, he's a soldier. He'll obey an order." _Greg gave whatever advice he could. They were so close to getting their guy back, they couldn't risk losing him now.

"I'm giving you an order, Master Corporal!" Ed's voice bellowed in Sam's ear and Ed wasn't sure if it was the volume of his voice or the title used that had made Sam freeze, but he didn't care, as long as Sam stopped struggling. "That's good, Sam." Ed's voice returned to the soft and calm tone it was earlier. Slowly, he pulled back but kept a grip on his shoulders. "You can't listen to Ben, Sam. Whatever he's saying to you, it's not true. It's your own guilt talking. You haven't told me much about what happened to you in Afghanistan, but I know enough to know that you blame yourself for what happened. You tell everyone that Ben wasn't suppose to be there, that you were following orders, but I know you don't believe your own story. There's no way anyone can walk away from what you've been through and not let that guilt eat you away."

Team One could see the agony on Sam's face as Ed spoke to him. There was not a dry eye in the room. "They kept telling me that it wasn't my fault…that I was just following orders, but I could see it in their eyes. The betrayal they felt. They couldn't trust me anymore."

"What did your superiors do about it?" Ed asked him, knowing Sam's team leader had to do something to pull his team back together again.

"He gave the team an ultimatum. Either accept what's happened as an accident and put it behind us or leave the team." Sam was calming down now. Somehow, talking about it all kept Ben's voice at bay and helped Sam differentiate the real from the hallucinations.

"What did you do?" Ed could guess what Sam did, because it's what he would've done in the same situation.

"I left." Sam answered softly.

"Because you knew that even if they stayed, they couldn't fully trust you and JTF2 soldiers had to unconditionally trust each and every team mate in order to do their jobs. You didn't want to risk anyone's life out in the field, so you left the job you love, to save more lives." Ed could see the relief resounding throughout Sam's whole body. Someone finally understood him, understood his decision. His father didn't even try to understand and his team just thought Sam leaving reinforced his guilt. "Sam, I can't begin to imagine what you've been through, but I can promise you that what happened with your old team, will _never_ happen with Team One. We all trust you with our lives. Do you understand that?" Ed waited for an answer, as did the team at the door. They all smiled in relief when Sam nodded. Ed couldn't voice how proud he was of the sniper.

Wordy could tell that the situation was settled and Sam was no longer threatening to hurt himself or anyone else. Greg nodded for him to go in and administer the drug. Wordy entered the room quietly, not wanting to startle Sam. He smiled seeing that Sam still had his eyes closed. Sam's a soldier to the end, unwilling to disobey an order, even one as simple as that. He walked around his two friends, so that Ed could see him. Anyone else who had seen Ed would've been shocked at the tears running freely down his face, but not Wordy. Wordy has known Ed long enough to know the man wasn't as tough as he makes himself out to be. He held up the needle to show Ed what he was about to do. Ed nodded to him. Wordy gently lifted Sam's sleeve, then swabbed it with an alcohol wipe. He waited for the alcohol to dry before sticking the needle into Sam's arm, pushing in the plunger, slowly injecting Sam with the antidote. Wordy sighed in relief at the same time Ed did. "You're going to be okay, Sam."

The rest of Team One were outside the door looking in. The younger team members wanted to go in, but Greg stopped them, "The antidote might not be taking effect yet, we don't want to do anything that might escalate Sam again." So they were forced to wait outside and watch as Ed kept Sam calm.

Sam didn't feel the prick of the needle, but he did feel some pain from the antidote entering his system. "Sir? Can I open my eyes now?" Ed laughed at the soft and very serious question coming from his sniper. He looked at Wordy who had a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, Sam, you can open your eyes now." Ed told him.

Slowly, Sam opened his eyes, squinting until his vision cleared. Ed was in front of him, smiling and Wordy was next to him with a smile on his face too, but there was someone standing next to Wordy. It was Ben, but it wasn't the same Ben that had been talking to him in the nightmare, it was the Ben he's always known. There wasn't any blood on his face, just a smile. "Ben." Wordy's smile immediately disappeared at hearing that name, he looked over at Ed, who looked just as unhappy. Sam smiled, "I miss you, Ben." Wordy was confused, Sam didn't sound afraid or stressed, he was relaxed.

"Sam? What's Ben saying to you?" Ed asked him, just as curious as Wordy.

Sam turned to Ed, and shook his head, "Nothing. He's not saying anything." Ed and Wordy smiled in relief, glad that the threat seemed to be over. Sam's eyelids started growing heavy, "Hey, Ed?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"I'm really tired." Sam complained softly, feeling the pull of sleep, "I'm going to lie down now." He proceeded to get down on the floor, prepared to sleep right there, but Ed and Wordy had other plans.

"Woah, not here, buddy," Ed laughed, pulling his friend back to his feet and pulling his arm over his shoulder. Wordy took Sam's other arm by the elbow and together they led Sam out of the room.

"Good job, Ed." Greg nodded at his team leader as he passed him with a very sleepy Sam. "How is he?"

Ed continued to the entrance to the building, "He's burning up. I'm not sure about the muscle pains."

"Okay, let's get him to the hospital. The paramedics are waiting outside." Greg had called the paramedics once he arrived on the scene.

Ed and Wordy lowered Sam onto the gurney, they knew Sam was exhausted because Sam didn't complain at all about going to the hospital. "Jules, why don't you go with Sam?" Jules, who had been standing back, so badly wanting to take Sam into her arms and never let him go, but she couldn't. Greg knew this and was giving her the chance to take care of Sam. Jules nodded, eagerly, jumping into the back of the ambulance. She waited until the door closed before taking Sam's hand in hers.

"We still have work to do." Ed said as he watched the ambulance leave. "How'd you go with the Attorney General?"

"He said he'll make it a priority to review the evidence." Greg answered him, "We've got justice for the Thompsons but finding the real killer is the job of Toronto P.D."

Ed sighed in relief. "That means our job is done."

Greg looked around at his team, who were still looking at the direction the ambulance had left in, "Everyone, hit the showers, then we'll go to the hospital together."


	12. Chapter 11

Jules stood over Sam who was asleep in the hospital bed. She combed her hand through this hair, telling herself that Sam is going to live, he's safe now, but Sam hadn't woken up since they've arrived at the hospital which was about an hour ago. The doctors here at the hospital couldn't do anything due to the unique poison used, so again, they administered an IV and took blood samples. It'll take a couple more hours for the results to come back and be compared to the first sample they took, so until then, all she could do was wait. As she waited, she thought about the emotional pain Sam had to suffer, the painful memories Sam had to relive; why did Thompson have to be so cruel in his methods? Another thought came to her mind, why didn't Sam ever tell her about Ben? Did he think she would think less of him, because if that's what he thought of her then maybe breaking up with him was a good idea after all, but then once that thought came to mind, she immediately kicked it out of her head. Breaking up with Sam was the worse decision she could've made and it took Sam almost dying for her to realise it. She didn't know that Sam meant so much to her until she thought she was going to lose him forever. The thought of Sam not existing in her world brought tears flooding to her eyes. She wiped them away, but they kept coming. "I love you, Sam." She would say it to him a hundred times over if she thought he could hear her, but right now, he was dead to the world.

"How is he?" Jules jumped at the voice. It was Ed. How did he get in here without her knowing? She turned to tell him what the doctor had said when she realised that the whole of Team One was in the room. She had been so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realise five people had entered the room. It's a good thing she wasn't on the job, otherwise that may be the mistake that opens up a spot on Team One for 500 men to fight for, then again, if she did lose her job, she could be with Sam.

"He's sleeping. Doctors don't know anything at the moment. His fever's still high but there's not much they can do about it."

"Thompson said there's a sedative in the antidote that'll make Sam sleep so his body can heal, so I wouldn't be too worried." Ed told her, rubbing her shoulder, "Sit down, Jules, you need to rest as well. Sam's going to need all our support when he wakes up." Jules nodded and sat down, too tired to argue with her TL.

"Did Thompson say how long until the toxin is out of his system?" Wordy asked Ed from the other side of Sam's bed.

Ed shook his head, "No, just that he'll probably sleep it off and I didn't have time to ask." As if to prove Thompson wrong, Sam stirred a little. "Sam?"

Jules sat up in her chair when Ed said Sam's name. She picked up his hand when she noticed Sam trying to respond to his name. "Sam, it's okay, we're all here." She could see his eyes moving under his eyelids, trying hard to open them.

"Sam, buddy, relax, just sleep." Ed put a hand on Sam's leg, but there was no sign that Sam planned to go back to sleep. Ed could see that Sam seemed to struggle harder to wake up. "Stubborn." Ed growled.

"Sam's never been good at doing what he's told when he's in the hospital." Spike smiled, glad to see that his friend was getting better.

Greg smiled at the comment. It was true, Sam wasn't a very good patient. The man would follow an order from his superiors but pretty much ignored any orders from a doctor. "Hey, Sam." Greg said when Sam's eyes finally fluttered open.

Greg's was the first face Sam focused on when he finally managed to open his eyes. "Boss." His voice was barely a whisper. Wordy grabbed a cup of water from the side table and guided the straw into Sam's mouth. Sam took a sip gratefully, "Thanks, Wordy." He's voice was a little stronger but it was still only just above a whisper.

"How are you feeling, Sam?" Ed asked.

Sam turned his head and noticed Ed and Jules on his right and Spike and Lou at the foot of the bed. The whole team was here. Sam frowned at them, "Don't you have work to do?"

Lou shook his head, "That's gratitude for you." But he was smiling as he said it, happy that Sam was well enough to give his team some attitude.

"Sam, you haven't answered Ed's question." Jules squeezed Sam's hand to get his attention.

Sam looked down at the hand in his and smiled before looking up at Jules. He thought about the question. He was tired…exhausted actually. His arms and legs were still aching and he still felt feverish. Over all, he was still feeling the effects of the poison, except for the hallucinations. Sam frowned and looked around the room, trying to see if there was anyone that shouldn't be in the room or even alive, just to make sure he wasn't having hallucinations. He was relieved when he didn't see anyone that didn't belong. "I'm okay," was the only answer Sam gave.

Ed rolled his eyes and shook his head, then looked over at Greg, "Boss, maybe you can get a more specific answer out of him." He ignored the glare he got from Sam.

Greg chuckled at his two tactical officers' exchanges. These two may have gotten off to a rocky start but they've strengthened their friendship over time to the point where they could read each other like a book when it came to tactical operations. "Sam, are you feeling any of the earlier symptoms?"

The question was more specific than Ed's so Sam answered honestly, "It's hot in here and I feel like I just ran a marathon."

"There, was that so hard?" Ed asked, sarcastically.

Sam's glare was back, "You want a specific answer you ask a more specific question."

"Easy, boys." Jules shook her head, then looked up at Ed, "You want to give him a little break? He just woke up."

Ed shook his head, "No, he can still be a smart ass, he's fine!"

"Glad you agree," Sam gave a smile that made Ed suspicious of what's about to come out of his mouth, "Can I get out of here then?"

"Hell, no!" Ed said, a little louder than he should have.

"But…"

"No, buts! You stay here until your blood test comes back clear."

Sam groaned as he pushed himself up on his elbows, "Nothing the doctors can do for me before and there's nothing they can do for me now."

Wordy gently pushed Sam back down on the bed. It didn't take much as Sam was still very weak. "Sam, where do you want to go?"

"Home! I feel like I haven't been home in days." Sam complained, "You know how much I hate this place." He closed his eyes from the exhaustion of just trying to sit up, "What's the point of me staying here when the doctors can't do anything to help me?"

The younger team members looked to the older three, waiting for them to deal with this situation. They felt for Sam. It's not a good feeling to be laid up in hospital with little control over what you can and can't do. Jules understood better than anyone, but she also understood that doing what the doctor's say usually got you out sooner rather than later. However, Sam's case was different. It was a unique case and Sam was right, the doctor's can't do anything for him, save putting him on an IV.

Ed looked at Greg and Wordy, trying to guess what they were thinking. Ed didn't want Sam to leave the hospital but Greg and Wordy were usually more lenient on Sam when it comes to situations like this. If they couldn't see any harm in letting Sam out of the hospital, then they would let Sam have his way. Ed sighed, he knew Greg and Wordy were ready to give in. "Fine…" Sam's face brightened at the word, but Ed put a hand up to stop him from getting too excited, "You stay at my place until I'm satisfied you're well enough to take care of yourself."

Sam frowned, not sure if he liked the idea of intruding on Ed's family, "Why can't I stay with Lou or even the Boss's place?"

Wordy answered for Ed, "Because Sophie will be home to take care of you. It's either that or you can spend time with Shelley and my beautiful girls."

"Or you can stay with my parents." Spike added at the same time as shaking his head to warn Sam against that idea.

Sam chuckled at Spike's expression, "Guess I really don't have a choice then."

"Sure you do, you can choose to stay here where the good nurses can monitor you." Greg laughed at the glare Sam gave him.

Sam looked at Ed, "Do I have your permission to leave this place now?"

Ed smirked at the childish look on Sam face, like a child asking for permission to leave the naughty corner, "Yeah, yeah. Boss, why don't you sort out the paperwork so we can get our guy out of here?"

Ed drove into his driveway with Sam asleep in the passenger seat. It was past 10 o'clock at night now and he managed to convince the rest of the team that he'll be fine to get Sam home on his own. The whole of Team One was ready to come home with them, but it was getting late and tomorrow was still a work day. Ed got out of the truck and walked over to the other side. "Sam." He gently shook Sam's shoulder to wake him. Sam's brow furrowed in annoyance, but he didn't wake up, which showed how exhausted the young man was. "Sam." Ed gave a more firm shake this time, making Sam open his eyes, "We're here."

Sam looked over at the house. The porch light was on as were the lights in the living room. "Are you sure I'm not intruding?" Sam asked as he let Ed help him out of the truck. He didn't like relying on others so much, but his legs felt like they wouldn't hold up an ant at the moment let alone his entire body weight. He leaned heavily on Ed, but Ed didn't call him on it, knowing that it was already hard for Sam to accept his help.

"You're not intruding and I've already checked with Sophie. She set up the guest room for you."

"How about Clark?" As if to answer the question Clark opened the front door and walked over to them. Without even waiting to be asked, he pulled Sam's other arm over his shoulder and helped his father lead Sam into the house. "Thanks, Clark." Sam smiled. The boy took after his dad.

Clark smiled back at him, "No problem."

"You know, if I didn't know better, I would say I'm feeling worse than I did before the antidote." Sam complained, "Are you sure you didn't just give me an extra dose of the toxin?"

Ed rolled his eyes, "Yeah, Sam, I'm sure. You're not having hallucinations, right?" Clark and Ed lowered Sam onto the bed in the guest bedroom.

"Right, but everything else seems to have gotten worse." Sam groaned as he laid on the bed, then looked over at Clark who was looking at him with concern, "It's not that bad." He back pedalled a little, hoping to appease the boys concern, "I'm just trying to milk it with your dad. It's not often he lets me lie around and do nothing."

Clark laughed, "Yeah, I know what you mean," then jumped out of the way before his dad could slap him over the head, "I'll leave you guys to it. Hope you feel better soon, Sam."

Sam smiled, "Thanks, Clark." He waited until Clark closed the door before continuing, "He's a really good kid, Ed."

Ed nodded at the closed door, "Yeah, I know." He has always been proud of his son. Clark has always been a responsible kid and always helped out around the house. Sometimes he wondered if not being at home made his son grow up faster than most kids.

"You know, he respects what you do." Sam closed his eyes feeling the pull of sleep again, "that's why he's such a good kid. He knows that this city needs guys like you. He's willing to take up more responsibility in the family, so that you can do your job."

Ed looked at Sam thoughtfully, "I've never thought of it that way."

Sam smiled sleepily, "He's doing his part for his city, just like his dad. He's more like you than you think." With that, he finally let his eyes close and let sleep take him.

Ed shook his head in amazement. Sam was half-dead to the world, and yet he still managed to read Ed's thoughts and ease them. Looking back at that first day Sam join SRU, he found it hard to believe that he was the same man as the one sleeping in his guest bedroom. "Good night, buddy." Ed quietly turned out the lights and left the room.

It was 3 am when Ed and Sophie were woken up by something breaking. Sophie looked at Ed in alarm. Ed gestured for Sophie to stay calm. "I'll check it out." Ed got up and picked up a baseball bat he kept at the door. He stepped out into the hall and saw Clark coming out of his room. "Clark, get back inside." He whispered sharply.

"It's Sam." Clark whispered back, pointing at the open door of the guest room. Ed sighed and lowered his bat. "Okay, go back to sleep." Clark nodded and went back into his room. Ed quickly poked his head back into his and Sophie's room. "It's just Sam. I'll take of care it. Go back to sleep." He returned the bat to his spot and closed the door.

Sam was leaning over the counter, his arms folded under his head and broken glass at his bare feet. "Sam, what happened?" Ed asked as he quickly slipped on his sneakers and grabbed his slippers at the front door before entering the kitchen area.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. Just wanted to get a glass of water." Sam pushed himself up, his voice weak and tired, "Glass slipped out of my hand."

"Don't worry about the glass." Ed dropped the pair of slippers at Sam's feet. "Put them on before you cut yourself on the broken glass." Sam did as he was told. "I should've left a glass of water for you in the room. Doctor said you needed to stay hydrated." Ed led Sam out of the kitchen and sat him down at the dining table. "You're still burning up." He could feel the heat coming off Sam. Ed went back into the kitchen and got a glass and the jug of cold water from the fridge. "Here." Ed poured Sam a glass of cold water before sitting down opposite Sam. "How are you feeling?"

Sam sighed in relief as the cold water ran down his throat and then held the cup to his warm cheek, "About the same as before." Ed frowned as Sam leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, looking no better than he did before the antidote. He was starting to wonder if Thompson had actually given him the antidote. Ed looked at his watch. It was after 3 and Thompson is still held at the Toronto Police Station. He decided a late night visit to the station was in order.

Ed got up, "Come on. Let's get you back to bed." He was about to take him by the arm but Sam brushed him off.

"I'm not an invalid." Sam pushed himself up off the table, "I can walk…" The room started spinning, "Woah!" Ed's arm flew out when Sam started swaying, grabbing him by the arm. Luckily Sam just fell back into his chair. "Ed, I think I might've checked out of hospital prematurely."

Ed couldn't help but smirk at that, "You think?"

Sam looked up and glared at his TL, "You want to say it, say it now, cause that's the first and last time I'll ever admit to that."

Ed laughed at the sniper, "That's beneath me." Sam raised an eyebrow at him making Ed laugh even harder, "If you insist." Ed cleared his throat and grinned at Sam, "I told you so!" Sam rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile. Ed really could be a kid sometimes. "You want me to take you back to the hospital?" Ed asked seriously after he had his fun.

Sam shook his head, tiredly, "I'll see how I feel in the morning."

Ed nodded, "Alright, it's almost morning, get back to bed." This time Sam didn't protest when Ed took him by the arm and to lead him to the room.

"Sorry I woke you." Sam's muscles groaned as he lowered himself on to the bed.

"It's fine. It's almost time for me to get ready for work anyway." Ed waited for Sam to fall back to sleep before leaving the room. It didn't take long. Sam's body is still weak from the effects of the toxin, he barely had the energy to keep his eyes open.

Ed gently closed the door and looked at his watch. If he left now, he'd have time to pay Thompson a visit before he headed in to work. He quickly got changed and left a note for Sophie on the fridge.

**Toronto Police Station**

Ed found himself standing against the cell wall, opposite Henry Thomson again. His arms were folded in front of him, looking very intimidating. Then again, it's not often that criminals didn't see Ed looking intimidating. Thompson looked at him nervously, unsure why this man was back.

"I need to know exactly how long the effects of your poison is suppose to last after the antidote's been taken." Ed got straight to the point, not wanting to look at this guy any more than he had to.

Thompson frowned, confused, "I told you, the sedative in the antidote should help him sleep off the effects."

"Right, I remember." Ed's glared at the man, "the problem is my guy woke up about an hour or so after we gave him the injection," Thompson's eyes widened at that, "He's exhausted and dizzy. His muscle pains haven't gone away and he still has a high fever."

"The sedatives should've have been enough to keep him under for at least 12 hours."

Ed smirked and shook his head, not amused at all, "How many tests did you do before you poisoned Sam? Your poison didn't have the effects you expected and now the antidote doesn't either. What kind of a scientist are you?"

Thompson sighed, "I only tested it on a rat once…" Ed pushed off the wall, looking like he was about to punch Thompson's lights out, "But the rat survived!" He added quickly.

Ed had to take a deep breath to calm himself before he continued, "In other words, you weren't sure Sam would survive this, even with the antidote." Thompson lowered his head, his heart filled with guilt and shame. "So you're telling me Sam could die anyway."

Thompson looked up at the man, "I'm sorry."

Ed launched forward, grabbing Thompson by the shirt and yanking him to his feet. "You put Sam's life on the line for your son's who's already dead and all you can say is that you're sorry?"

"If you let me take a look at your man's blood test results, I might be able to help, or at least tell you if the antidote is working or not."

Ed released him and pushed him back onto the bed, "I can tell you now, it's not working!"

"It could be just that it's working slower than I expected. I can tell you if you would just let me look at the results." Thompson pleaded, he had started all this, he needed to fix it. "Please let me help."

Ed could see the sincerity in Thompson's face and hear it in his voice and the truth was Ed couldn't see the down side in letting Thompson look at Sam's blood results. "I'll get the hospital to fax a copy over here." With that Ed left the cell without giving Henry Thompson another glance.


	13. Chapter 12

**The Barn**

Team One were already in the gym, doing their morning workout before the day started, when Ed walked in. All at once the team, save Greg, surrounded Ed, asking about Sam's condition. Ed backed up, trying to get the team to give him some space. He was tired from talking to Thompson about Sam and with the information he's been given, he didn't want to have to tell his team the bad news. "Ed, just tell us if Sam's any better?" Jules urged, when a loud whistle from behind them made them all turn around.

Greg was sitting on a bench with a towel around his neck. "Give Ed some space." Greg and Ed have known and worked with each other for so long that Greg knew Ed didn't have good news for them. When the team back off a little, Greg asked, "He's no better, is he?"

Ed shook his head, "His fever hasn't gone down. Aside from the hallucinations, none of the symptoms have faded at all." Ed watched as the team deflated. He knew how they felt. They thought Sam would be okay, that they had got him the antidote in time. They thought Sam's life was no longer in the balance. He didn't want to tell them the rest, but he did anyway. They had the right to know what Thompson had told him. Ed dropped down onto the bench next to his boss. If this was a scene on the television, the colour would have left the screen.

Greg watched as his team lost their usual energy and enthusiasm. He felt the same way but they couldn't let this effect their job and it was his job as their leader to give them a reason to keep doing what they do. He looked up at the entrance of the gym when he saw Rolly walk past. "Hey Rolly, come in here a sec."

Rolly looked up and saw the faces of Team One. Immediately the pale face of Sam from yesterday came to his mind and automatically one thought came to mind. "Guys, I'm so sorry."

Jules looked at him and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks, "What for?" She asked, confused.

Rolly frowned and looked at Greg, who just smiled at him. Ed followed Rolly's eyes and looked behind him at Greg, seeing the grin on his bosses face told him what he was up to. "Sam's still alive." Greg told him.

Rolly let out a breath of relief, "Man, you guys scared me! I thought someone died!" Team one looked at each other and finally understood what the boss was telling them. Wordy couldn't help but let out a short laugh. Only the boss could come up with something like that. "So how is Sam?"

Ed was about to answer, but Greg cleared his throat loudly. Ed turned and frowned at him, but Greg just pretended that he needed a drink and took a mouthful from his drink bottle. He wanted his team to answer Rolly and just like always, they didn't disappoint.

Spike was the first to speak up. "He's good. Don't forget, he's Samtastic!"

Lou laughed and joined in, "Yeah, don't you remember the first day we met him. You really think anything could keep that cocky rookie down?"

"That's right, five guns in his face barely phased him." Wordy smiled at the memory. It seemed so long ago.

"He'll be okay, Rolly." Jules got up and gave him a hug, "Thanks." She said before returning to her place. Rolly smiled confused at what just happened. Jules's 'Thanks' wasn't just to thank him for caring about Sam, there was more to it, but he'd be damned if he could figure out what it was.

"That's good to hear." Rolly gave up thinking about it, "I have to start my shift. Tell Sam Team 3 wishes him a fast recovery."

Greg nodded his thanks before getting up to address his team. "From what I've heard so far, I'm guessing I don't need to make a speech about the need to continue your job no matter what situation we're in."

"Yes, Sir!" Came the answer in unison.

Clark kissed his mum goodbye before running out to catch the bus. Sophie stood at the door, smiling. She knew how lucky she was to have a son as good as Clark. She worried that he was growing up too fast, that he had to take on too much responsibility, but last night Ed had told her what Sam had told him and it made her even more proud of son, if that was even possible. Sophie closed the door and went back to the kitchen to clean up the rest of the dishes before checking on Sam. Ed had told her that he needed his rest.

Sophie wiped her hands on her apron before taking it off and walking over to the guest room door. She knocked softly, before entering. "Sam? Are you awake?" Sophie asked as she quietly entered the room. "Sam?" She called again when the figure in the bed didn't answer.

Sam laid curled up into a tight ball on the bed, pulling the covers tight around his shoulders. He couldn't stop himself from shivering. He was so cold. "Sam?" Sam tried to answer the concerned voice, but he could seem to get his eyes to open or his mouth to work.

Sophie started to worry, it wasn't like Sam to not answer. She leaned over the figure on the bed and pulled down the covers to get a better look at Sam. Sophie didn't like what she was seeing. Sam was shivering and one feel of his head told her that his fever had spiked. "Sam!" She shook his shoulder to get a response from him, but Sam's brow just knitted. Sophie knew this was beyond her abilities. "I'll be right back, Sam." She ran out and grabbed the handset, dialling 911. "I need an ambulance at 35 Overhill Road. I have an SRU officer, Sam Braddock, with a high fever. He was only just released from hospital yesterday. St Simon's will have his details. Also, can you let his Sergeant at SRU know? Thank you!" Sophie hung up the phone and went into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of frozen peas from the freezer, before returning to Sam.

Sam hadn't moved at all, but a closer look told Sophie that his shivering had gotten more violent. Sophie put the frozen bag against Sam's face hoping to ease the fever, but Sam just jerked suddenly at the cold pack, "Tt…t..oo…ccc…col..cold." Somehow, hearing Sam stutter was more of a relief even though it was to announce his discomfort. Sophie put aside the bag of peas, not daring to use it again.

"Ambulance is on the way, Sam. You're going to be okay." Sophie gentle brushed aside the wet hair that had stuck to Sam's damp forehead. Her motherly instincts were kicking in. She was definitely not old enough to be Sam's mother, but she knew that Ed treated his team like his family, which meant they were her family as well. Sirens outside broke through her thoughts and filled her with a sense of relief. "Thank goodness."

Winnie walked quickly to the briefing room, "Sir," She looked at Greg but addressed the entire team. "911 just received a call from Sophie."

Ed jumped out of his seat at the name, "What happened? Is she okay?"

"It's not her. It's Sam." This time the whole team jumped out of their seats, "Sophie called for an ambulance. Sam should be on his way to St Simon's right now."

"Did they tell you his condition?" Jules asked, feeling her heart drop at the news.

"Just that he's shivering and his fever's really high." Winnie reported.

Greg nodded, "Thanks, Winnie." He sighed, not knowing what he should do. Team One has already been taken off any hot calls yesterday to deal with their case, SRU couldn't afford to have them off hot calls for another day. He was about to tell his team that they were needed here when Captain Holleran walked in.

"What are you all doing here?" the Captain demanded of them.

The team looked at each other confused, "Are we suppose to be somewhere else, Sir?" Greg asked.

"I would've expected you to be at the hospital."

"Sir?" Ed wasn't sure if the captain was saying what he thought he was saying.

"I got a call from the hospital telling me that Sam's being rush over there right now. I thought Team One would already be on their way."

"We're needed here, Captain."

"I've called in Team Five. They'll be taking your shifts for the next two days, so unless there is a major crisis, you and your entire team are on leave."

Team One didn't stay around any longer than they had to. "Thank you, Sir!"

Sophie sat in the waiting room outside emergency. Sam had been rolled into the restricted area leaving Sophie worried and waiting. The paramedics had measured Sam's temperature at 105.6. Sophie didn't need anyone to tell her that that was dangerously high. When the paramedic first arrived at her house, Sam was still conscious. He had made an effort to answer the paramedic's questions before his body had had enough and gave in to the darkness. Sophie started biting her nails nervously as she waited for the doctor to come out and tell her if her husband's team mate would be okay. "Sophie." She jumped at her name, not realising that Ed had arrived with the rest of the team. They had stormed into the hospital, looking quite spectacular to the other people in the hospital. Many heads had turned to look at them, but only Sophie, who had been deep in thought, didn't notice.

Sophie sighed in relief when she looked up and found her husband looking down at her, "Oh Ed, thank goodness." Ed pulled his wife up and embraced her, "His fever was 105.6 when we got here." Sophie told them when she pulled away. "They haven't told me anything else."

Ed rubbed Sophie's arm, up and down, hoping to reassure her. "Thanks, Soph." He kissed her on the lips and placed his keys in her hands, "Take the car and head back home. We'll take over from here." Sophie looked around at the others and saw that they were just as concerned as her husband. This team really are a family. Sophie nodded, knowing she had done all she could for Sam. "The car's just out front."

"Call me when you know more." Sophie kissed him on the cheek before leaving.

"Thank you, Sophie." Greg said as she passed him.

Sam could hear voices, but they sounded like they were miles away, yet they were talking to about him. "Jules, you should go home and rest. It's been over a day. You need to rest." Sam recognised the voice, it was Greg's.

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?" Sam smiled, well he would've if he had the strength to, "Thompson told Dr Ratchet that Sam had an adverse reaction to the heparin in the antidote. He should be waking up now that they've fixed that problem." Only 5-10% of people have a bad reaction to heparin, Sam was one of them, but the use of a synthetic form of heparin fixed that problem. Blood tests were finally showing better results. The original antidote was doing the job but Sam's allergy had slowed down its progress. It had been a very close call. If Thompson hadn't found the problem in time, Sam would've slipped into a coma. The poison would've eventually left his system, but not before it had done too much damage for his body to recover.

"Give him time, Jules." Wordy. Sam would recognise that calm voice anywhere, "He's been through hell and back, sleeping can only be good for him."

"Yeah, and maybe this time when he wakes up, you two won't be such pushovers and make sure he stays here." The comment itself told Sam who that was. Ed has always been too overprotective.

"Well, if you think about it, you kinda gave in as well." Spike always did like to add his two cents worth, even if it was safer for him to keep his mouth shut.

"You know, you need to learn when to shut up." Lou, and that's the whole of team one. Sam wondered why his entire team was here and not out on the streets, making their presence known. There was only one way to find out.

The team stopped their bickering when Jules noticed Sam's eyes moving under his eyelids. Jules got up and leaned over the man she loved, "Sam?" Jules gently caressed his cheeks, hoping to coax him to open his eyes. "Hey, Sam, it's time to wake up." She didn't care that she was showing so much of her feelings in front of the whole team. It's true she may get transferred for this but she didn't care, she just wanted to see Sam open his eyes and look at her. She smiled when Sam's eyes opened just enough to see his blue eyes, "Hey, you took your sweet time, didn't you?"

Sam gave her a tired smile, "I would've slept longer, but you guys wouldn't shut up." His voice was barely a whisper, but Jules heard him and laughed.

"Well, if you can joke, I guess you really are on the mend." Jules moved aside so that he could see the rest of the team. "He says we're too noisy." Jules told them.

"Why is it that you never have anything good to say when you wake up?" Spike asked him, amused.

"Why is the top team on the SRU always so free to stand around my bed side?" Sam asked in a hoarse voice.

Ed shook his head, "And why aren't you ever just grateful for that?"

Sam pushed himself up onto his elbows, "Because…ow…" He dropped back onto the bed. His arms and shoulders still felt like Ed had run one of his maniacal training routines. "I'm still sore."

"That might take a couple more days to go away. Your fever broke last night, so you should be feeling better soon." Greg told him. He leaned in closer and spoke softly, "We were really close to losing you for good."

Sam was taken aback by the soft but emotionally filled statement. He took in the rest of the team and could see in their faces, how truly close he had come to death. "Sorry I scared you." Sam told them softly, "I didn't know I was allergic to heparin."

Wordy raised his eyebrows in surprise, "How did you know it was heparin?"

"Heard you guys talking. What time is it?"

"A little after mid-day." Ed answered him, "You've been unconscious for over a day."

Sam looked at Jules. She looked exhausted. There are bags under her eyes. "You should go home. I'm fine now."

Jules didn't want to, but she knew the team wouldn't let her stay here any longer. The rest of the team had come and gone, but she had stayed the entire time. "I'll be back tomorrow morning." She wanted to kiss him goodbye, but she's already revealed too much in front of the team. Sam smiled, knowing what she was thinking because he was thinking the same thing.

Sam looked around at the rest of the team after Jules left. "What are you all standing around for? Don't you have a job to do?"

Ed rolled his eyes at the sniper, "Do you really think we would all stop work if we were needed? The captain gave us two days off. Team five's standing in for us, but if there's an emergency we'll be called in. Satisfied?"

Sam shook his head, "Not really. Does that mean you'll all be standing around my bed the whole day?"

Spike burst out laughing at Sam's expression. He didn't look like he liked the idea of everyone watching over him, "We're not going to attack you."

"But we will tie you up if you don't stay in that bed." Ed promised him.

"Yeah, yeah, I learned my lesson." Sam closed his eyes. He was touched that the guys were all here for him. "I'm going to sleep for a little bit, you guys make yourself comfortable."

The team did exactly what Sam said, but they weren't going to waste time just sitting around. Spike and Lou had a notebook each, while Greg, Wordy and Ed had files on Thompson's defense lawyer and the detective that had handled the Welsh case. They planned to make the most of their day off by continuing their investigation. The case will be handed over to the police department but before they do they planned to find as much evidence of foul play as they could. Ed had made a promise to Henry Thompson that he will get justice, he didn't plan to go back on his word. It shouldn't be hard to find evidence that the detective and the defense lawyer had been paid off. The judge had already issued a warrant for the team to access all their bank accounts and to search their case files. It won't be long before they find evidence of a cover up. They just hoped the real killer will be caught.

"I got it!" Spike threw his hands in the air in celebration, but it was short lived when Sam jerked awake at his loud voice. His arms immediately came back down, his hands covering his mouth, knowing how much trouble he was in with the rest of team one.

"What going on?" Sam looked around the room, confused, trying to push himself up to find the threat that had woken him up.

"Sam, it's okay," Greg gently pushed Sam back down, "It was just Spike. He got a little excited."

Sam turned his head to find Spike, frowning when he found him with his hand over his mouth. He raised his eyebrows in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"

Spike pulled his hands back down and winced, "Sorry," then turned his notebook around, "I found proof that Detective Kenneth Torres was paid off to turn a blind eye to the truth."

Sam squinted at the screen that was too far and the words too small for him to read, "What is…"

"Sam," Ed interrupted, "Leave this to us. You just rest."

Sam closed his eyes, too tired to argue, but he decided that he was strong enough to be annoying, "You know I would rest better if you guys did all this somewhere else."

Lou shook his head in mock disgust, "You never appreciate us." Spike smirked at his best friend's expression.

"Fine, you want to do this here?" Sam held out his hand to Ed, "Give me a file."

"Hell no!"

Sam laughed tiredly at the predicted response from his team leader, "Get out of here. You guys could get a lot more work done back at HQ. I promise I won't leave this bed until the doctor clears me."

Ed shook his head, smiling. Sam had played them. "You know, sometimes you're too smart for your own good."

Sam shrugged smugly, "I like to think it's more than sometimes."

"Oh sorry, I meant you're too much of a smartass for your own good." Ed laughed as Sam glared at him mockingly.

"Seriously, guys, go back and cancel whatever leave Captain Holleran gave you. I'll sleep better knowing Team One's out there keeping the peace."

Team One stood. "Okay, we'll head back and get this all together. After today, hopefully everything gets back to normal."

Sam groaned and closed his eyes. "Can't wait."


	14. Epilogue

Two weeks later…

Sam was doing his training routine on the treadmill. It was his first day back on the job after being cleared for duty a week ago. After being discharge from the hospital he stayed at Ed's place until his TL was satisfied Sam was well enough to live on his own again. It irked Sam a little but he couldn't complain. Team One took care of their own. "Take it easy there, Sam. You only just got back. Last thing we need is to send you home because you taxed your limits." Ed, who was on the x-trainer, warned.

Sam slowed the treadmill down to a jog. "Ed, this is your training session. You put me on here. Not to mention, I've been cleared for duty. I passed my physical and psychological tests."

"Still, it's been a while so just take it down a notch." Greg agreed.

Sam glared at them as he pressed maniacally at the slow button until it came to a stop. "How's that?!"

Wordy had to decency to hold back his laughter but Spike and Lou just let it out, finding the scene quite hilarious. The thing is this has been happening all morning. Jules grinned at Sam. She liked it when Sam got like this. He was extra…hot.

Sam stood there with his hands resting on the bars waiting for his boss and team leader to say something. "Well?"

Ed pointed at the exercise bike. "Jump on that."

Sam rolled his eyes and then pointed at him firmly. "This is the last change." He shook his head as he walked over to the bike Wordy vacated for him. "You guys are ridiculous."

Ed shrugged, "Just taking care of family." He nodded to Spike. Spike grinned and played the ipod on the dock.

Sam looked like he was about to have an aneurism when his voice sounded on the speakers in the gym. _This is for my family at SRU. _"No, no, no, no, no…" Sam jumped off the bike tried to grabthe remote off Spike. Spike laughed and threw it to Wordy who threw it to Lou. _Greg, Boss, you've been like a father to me. You've helped me to understand that saving people's lives doesn't have to involve the use of a gun, that word's are so much more powerful._ Spike growled at the game of Piggy-in-the-middle before going for the source instead, but Lou grabbed him in a bear hug.

"I want to hear this part." Lou laughed. _Lou, you're always so calm in situations, you've never shown any anger or frustration, just always cool and collected, that's something I still need to learn._

Sam froze. "Wait…you've already heard this."

Spike grinned, "Yep. I love this part." _Spike, you're easily the smartest guy I know, what you can do with a computer… laughter it scares me sometimes, but what I'll be missing are your jokes and exchanges with Lou. In a job like this, your ability to make people laugh is a priceless skill. Yeah, I know, I'm so corny._ Sam groaned at the smug look at Spike's face but right now that was not what he was worried about. "I'm smarter than you!" Spike laughed.

"Hey, hey, sshhh…this is my part!" Wordy had his finger on his lips. Sam was still struggling with Lou and now Spike as well. _Wordy, you always have the best advice and you're always around to give them. You make juggling this life with a family life so easy and I wish the day will come where I'll be asking you for advice when I have a family of my own. _"You two better get the hell off me before I show you what I learned from JTF2!" _You're a good friend, Wordy._

Spike whispered something in his ear. Ed frowned when Sam calmed a little. Sam looked at Spike. Spike nodded. Sam almost sagged in relief. _Ed. You're not the easiest guy to work with and yeah, we got off on the wrong foot, but you're my mentor and the team leader I had hoped I could become. You've made hard shots, but every one of your fatal shots are right and I know how hard it is to make those and not be driven mad by them. Just do me a favour and the next time the Boss asks you if you're okay, after a lethal, don't tell him you're fine. Talk to him and tell him the truth, because one day, it'll be too much and SRU can't lose someone like you._ Ed smiled to himself when he heard that. Sam was more insightful than he let on. "Let me go." Sam shrugged off Spike and Lou. He could feel his face going red from embarrassment. "You know this is a breach of privacy." Sam complained as the last part started play. The part that could lose him his job. _Jules…wow…Jules, what can I say? Yeah, that first day I saw you I just thought, 'She's sexy,' but after getting to know…well, there's no words that could describe how amazing you are, inside and out. You're sensitive, you're kind, you're considerate and on top of all that, you're beautiful. I have to say, God wasn't very fair, when he was dishing out the good stuff. _Sam sighed in relief when he heard the next words. _Thank you guys, for everything. SRU is where I belong and there is no place I would rather be. _The team smiled at those last words. Sam was right. This is definitely where he belonged.

"Excuse me. I need to go shoot something." Sam nodded his thanks to Spike before walked out of the gym and headed to the weapons cage. If Spike hadn't erased the part to Jules, he and Jules would be a lot of trouble right now.

Jules winced as Sam passed him. "Do you think we went too far?"

"Hey, we never really hazed the guy…" Lou shrugged.

"That's because we decided that hazing someone from Special Forces could be hazardous to our health." Jules stood to go after Sam, but Greg stopped her.

"Let us to check on him. He's probably the most embarrassed about your part." Greg grabbed Ed and Wordy on his way out, "And seeing as you two thought it would be fun, you're coming with me."

"Ahhh…come on, Boss." Ed complained, "It was harmless fun."

Sam had already shot a round before they arrived. He reloaded his gun and shot again. They grabbed their ear muffs before entering the cage and waited for Sam to finish the round. Wordy stopped Sam before he could reload again. Sam frowned at the hand on his. He raised an eyebrow at Wordy, then put the gun down and pulled off his ear muffs. "You guys are trying to test me psychologically, aren't you? Seeing how far you can push me before I shoot one of you."

Ed laughed, "If we are, how are we doing?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "You guys are jackasses! I made that recording for you guys in case I died!" He patted himself all over, "Last I checked, I'm alive!"

"Spike had your phone on him. He said he accidentally dropped it and it started playing." Sam looked at Wordy sceptically. "That's what he told me."

"So play it when I'm _dead!_"

Ed turned serious, "That message wouldn't have meant half as much if you were dead. We didn't play it to embarrass you. We played it because we feel the same way."

Sam sighed, he knew Ed was right. "If I wasn't so happy to be back, I would shoot you all right now." But there was no force behind the words.

Greg grinned then nudged his head towards the exit. "Come on. We have something for you."

"Nope." Sam put his hands up as if to surrender, "Don't want anything from anyone."

Ed laughed, "Come on." He took Sam by the arm and pulled him out the door. "I promised this one isn't so bad."

"Isn't so bad!?" Sam let himself be dragged out but he wasn't happy about whatever was coming. "Seriously, don't we have a job to do?"

"Nope, no hot call yet." Wordy slapped him on the back.

As they walked past Winnie Sam begged her to announce a hot call for Team One. Winnie gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry." She mouthed.

"The briefing room clear, Winnie?" Greg asked her as he past.

"Only essential personnel, Sir, as per your orders." Winnie replied.

"Excellent!" Sam glared at his Boss's grin. "It's going to be good day, Sam!"

"Not so far…" Sam mumbled. He frowned when he saw all the lights off and blinds closed in the briefing room. "This better not be a surprise party."

Spike pressed play on his laptop as soon as Sam stepped into the room. Images came up on the big screen. Photos of Sam and the team. Most of the pictures were of them during training. Goofing around afterwards. He raised his eyebrows when Lou came on screen. "What was my first impression of Sam Braddock? Hmmm…brash…pretty boy straight out of JTF2. He was going to be hard to work with." Sam looked over at Lou and just shrugged. Lou wasn't totally wrong. Jules came up next. "I thought he was going to ask me for my autograph! He was so cocky!" Sam could hear Jules laughing from the back of the room. Rolly and team 3 appeared on the screen. "We were just happy he wasn't on our team!" They laughed and high-fived each other. Team 3 were currently on-call. Sam shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Sam was hitting on Jules like she was only girl alive!" Spike was on screen now. "I swear the guy was all over her!" Sam grabbed a pen from the table and threw it at Spike. Spike laughed and ducked. "Seriously. He just came across as cocky."

"Cocky." Ed said one word. "Cocky." Greg. "Cocky." Wordy.

"You guys need to expand your vocabulary." Sam laughed. He stopped when he heard his boss's next words. "He's come such a long way since then. He saves lives. Anyone should be proud to call him his son and if he doesn't," Greg shrugged, "Well then he's an idiot." Sam gave Greg an embarrassed smiled.

"Sam's smart. He watches our backs. I get to go home to my girls each day after work because I know Sam has a rifle in his hands watching my back." Wordy slapped Sam on the shoulder.

"Sam saved my life. It was a hard shot. One of our own was in the hospital and he had to put that aside and make a hard call. He did it. As much as he was a pain in my ass, he is also one of the best." Sam dipped his head at Ed. It meant more to him than anything to hear those words come from Ed.

A picture of the team came up with the words. "This is where you belong."

The screen faded and the lights came back on. They all turned to Sam whose eyes were suspiciously wet. "Welcome back, Sam." Greg announced.

Sam smiled at them. "Thanks guys."

Greg handed a folder to Sam. "Consider this a welcome back present."

Sam frowned at the folder and opened it. His eyes widened at the files. "That was fast."

"We did all the ground work for the detectives. It didn't take them long to follow the bread crumbs." It was obvious Spike was very pleased with himself.

"So it was the lawyer James Thompson had met with that day?"

"Yep. He set James up to take the fall. Jessica Welsh was his girlfriend. She wanted to break up with him so he set up a fake meeting with James, killed the girl and led James to the body. That part is a little muddy right now, but we can place him at the scene and there is motive."

"He paid off the lawyer and the detective on the case." Sam let out a whistle. "That's a lot of cover up." He closed the file. "You guys did it."

"We did it." Ed squeezed his shoulder. "You never gave up even after everything Thompson put you through."

"I had Team One my back. You wouldn't let me give up even if I wanted to."

"Hot call! Team One." Winnie's professional voice sounded through the floor.

Sam almost jumped up in excitement. "Thank you! Anymore of this and the cleaner won't be able to get the sugar of the windows!" He almost ran out of the building. Team One followed behind him.

"Let's do this, Team!" Greg called out. There were too many grins on the faces of this team for a hot call.

**The END**


End file.
